Impression
by Errow
Summary: When the only way to survive is running through time, Hermione does what she must. Things take an unexpected turn when she finds that she can't remember anything of the past. A Time Travel story taking place in the years after the Marauders graduate Hogwarts. RL&HG.
1. Things End

**Chapter 1: Things End**

_Banquo: To me you speak not. If you can look into the seeds of time and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear your favors nor your hate._

_-William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 3_

* * *

**June 12th, 1977**

_"Strange that Peter's ditched us again, right?" Remus asked the group after a long silent moment, "That has to be the fourth time this month."_

_James chuckled, "Maybe it's that Hufflepuff girl he's been seeing."_

_Lily seemed like she had been about to make a particularly witty comment, but suddenly halted in her path, green eyes growing wide. James turned to his girlfriend with a concerned expression, "Lily? What's wrong?"_

_Lily, however, didn't respond to him. Instead, her eyes were fixed several feet ahead of them. The only thing she dared to utter was an astonished, "Oh, Merlin."_

oOo

**The Battle of Hogwarts**

**May 2nd, 1998**

There was once a brightly burning flame of hope within Hermione; Hope for a victory in this dreadful war. Now, however, it seemed that the flame of hope was threatening to go out, flickering away as the battle raged. Hermione Granger was very aware of the fact that they were losing this battle. She felt sick at the sight of so many dead bodies piled up across the grounds of Hogwarts. A part of her wanted to resign to crying in her mum's shoulder like she had done so many times as a young child. In a pang of sadness, Hermione remembered that her mum and dad were still blissfully unaware of her existence. At least they were enjoying their time in Australia...

As she heard a crash and rumble of a mountain troll smashing through the courtyard, Hermione's thoughts were brought back to the urgent reality. She had to find Harry and Ron, and a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that she would find them at the center of everything: the Great Hall.

Hermione still held her purple beaded bag in her hand. She stuffed it in a pocket of her jeans and withdrew her wand. The girl's feet picked up in a rapid pace, dodging stray curses and chunks of falling rubble. She felt oddly like one of those characters in muggle action movies; a fearless daredevil in a quest to save the world.

But then again, she doubted that there was much a young witch like her could do in the way of saving the world. Voldemort's Death Eaters alone easily outnumbered the remaining students and Order members that were alive.

Hermione was once again too lost in thought to realize that she was being followed until it was too late. A hand gripped down on her arm, calling her name in an unfamiliar voice. Hermione turned at breakneck speed, whisking her wand to point at the face of a strange man. He immediately backed off, releasing her arm and raising his own hands in surrender.

"Hermione, I need to speak to you," He said urgently.

The witch narrowed her eyes, inspecting him closely. She had never seen him before in her life. He was a short, medium build man, looking relatively young. His face was menacing, and immediately lead Hermione to assume that he was a Death Eater of some sort... or maybe one of those vile Snatchers she had come across in the woods...

There was a strange symbol tattooed onto his face, stretching from his brow down to his jaw on the right side of his face. It looked like some ancient rune Hermione had never seen before, stretched out to cover a good portion of his face.

"Who are you?" Her voice was surprisingly brave.

"Who I am isn't important. You need to trust me, Hermione-"

"How do you know my name?" She cut him off harshly.

He slowly moved a hand to the collar of his robes, and began pulling on a chain around his neck. There were two different chains mingling underneath the cotton. She watched in shock as he removed a Time Turner from beneath his robes.

Hermione gasped and sputtered in confused contemplation for a long moment.

"I know you, Hermione," He said cautiously, "This is your Time Turner... you're going to need it... if you don't use it, this battle will be lost. _Please_ trust me," He now spoke in a much more sincere tone, "you're the only hope we have."

Hermione watched him in stunned disbelief. There were so many reasons not to trust him. Why was she even talking to him? She needed to find Harry and Ron...

He must have realized that she wasn't buying it, "Hermione Granger," He spoke again, "My name is Matthew Plait. _I'm your friend_, and you trusted me with the task of coming here today and delivering this Time Turner to you. It's _your_ Time Turner." He offered it to her, and Hermione saw that there were a few small words engraved onto the side of the device.

_Hermione Jean Granger_

It was her name. Engraved in a silvery font onto this little mechanism. Hermione didn't know what to say. She lowered her wand and took the Time Turner from him, inspecting it closely.

Matthew - if that even was his name - continued speaking, "We will lose this battle, and when all else fails, you need to use this." He pointed a finger at the device in her hands; similar, yet different to the one she had used in her third year at Hogwarts.

"I don't understand," Hermione murmured, examining his tattooed face.

"Just- _please_ trust me, Hermione," He spoke confidently, "don't hesitate to use this Time Turner when you need it."

He was gone before she could think of anything else to say, his dark hair disappeared into the fighting crowd of people that consumed the Courtyard. Hermione stood in shocked silence for several long minutes.

She doubted that she could trust him at all, but the Time Turner _did_ have her name on it, and they were probably going to lose this battle. She cautiously placed the chain around her neck and tucked the mechanism beneath her shirt. In a rush, Hermione continued on to the Great Hall, nervous for what she would find there.

As she peeked into the cavernous room, Hermione found that her worst fears were becoming reality. There were several Death Eaters within, and Voldemort's figure stood out to her. He stood in the center of the room facing off against Harry. Hermione's stomach plummeted when she made out Harry's exhausted figure. His wand was held up, pointing at Voldemort, who seemed to be taunting the boy-who-lived.

"Oh, Potter," Voldemort's snake-like voice sent shivers down Hermione's spine, "Silly boy. I don't think you realize that your failure is inevitable. You've already been selfish enough to spare the life of your friend." His spidery hand pointed to a slumped over body on the ground. Hermione gasped as she recognized the red hair and broad shoulders that laid limp on the ground.

"RON, NO!"

Hermione's scream echoed through the room as she bolted inside, desperately making her way to the boy.

He couldn't be dead.

"Hermione!"

She barely heard Harry's gasp as she plummeted to Ron's side. She jerked his shoulders over and took in his face. His eyes were closed and there seemed to be blood everywhere. She had to check for a pulse...

"CRUCIO!"

Hermione let out a bloodcurling scream as she felt the tearing pain of the Cruciatus curse. She didn't know how long it lasted for, all she knew was that it hurt more than anything she had ever experienced in her life. She shrieked and convulsed in pain for what felt like several neverending minutes.

When it stopped, Hermione was slumped on the ground beside Ron's body. She could just barely make out the voices of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. He seemed to be lecturing her on torturing Mudbloods without his permission. Harry was currently struggling against the grip of another masked Death Eater, looking at Hermione with a heartbroken expression.

"Hermione, you need to get out of here!" Harry was desperately yelling to her.

She really wanted to respond to him, or check for Ron's pulse, but her limbs all laid limp at her sides. She could still feel the remnants of the Cruciatus coursing through her nerves.

"So," Voldemort's voice invaded her senses once again, "It looks like you little Mudblood friend has come to rescue you." Chuckling laughter flowed through the Great Hall. Voldemort continued after a moment, "It's a pity that she's going to die as well."

Hermione suddenly felt control return to her. She picked her aching body up off the ground and found that her wand was still clasped firmly in her had. "_Stupefy_!" She sent the wild stunner at Bellatrix, the closest target she could find.

Bella seemed to expect the simple hex. She blocked it with ease, and before Hermione knew it, the deranged woman was stalking towards her. With a flurry of the woman's wand, Hermione felt a searing pain slice across her arm. She was still disoriented from the earlier cruciatus, but recognized that a powerful Sectumsempra had been cast on her.

Suddenly, the woman repeated it, this time the spell cut across Hermione's abdomen. She fell to the floor once again clutching her stinging wounds.

Bellatrix was letting out a cackling laugh, which seemed to echo menacingly throughout the Hall. "You stupid Mudblood!" She yelled, "Do you think you can defeat _us_?"

Voldemort was speaking again, but Hermione couldn't really concentrate on the words he was saying. It all blended together into what sounded like a whisper of Parseltongue. The young witch desperately looked for a solution, but the blood loss was getting to her.

_"We will lose this battle, and when all else fails, you need to use this."_

The idea floated into Hermione's mind like a vivid flashback, and she immediately understood what she had to do. But could she really trust the Time Turner given to her by a complete stranger?

_"You're the only hope we have."_

Hermione didn't have time to think over every detail. She needed to act on an impulse. With shaking fingers, the girl reached for the chain around her neck, withdrawing a glimmering Time Turner. She eyed her name engraved onto the side, took in a deep breath, and began to turn.

"What are you doing?"

His icy voice halted Hermione's moving fingers. She looked up to him with defiant eyes. Voldemort seemed frozen in place, examining her curiously. She could feel a spark ignite within her. It was a burning flame of crazy hope and true Gryffindor bravery. She slowly stood up from the cold ground, and continued to turn the small device.

He looked alarmed, and took a few steps towards her. She took a cautious step back, and began to feel the magic of her Time Turner take it's effect.

"My lord..." Bellatrix's voice was confused as well.

Suddenly, something seemed to light up in Voldemort's expression, as if he recognized what was going to happen. Hermione looked to Harry, and found him watching her with an indescribable expression. Then she looked to Ron, still unsure if he was even alive.

Voldemort raised his wand and in a flash, sent a strange, silent spell at Hermione. She could barely make out the hand movements as the curse hit her square in the chest. Hermione screamed, feeling the Time Turner shatter in her hands, glass sent everywhere. Her mind was spinning, and she could no longer see anyone around her. It was all turning black, and Hermione felt her body once again hit the ground.

oOo

**June 12th, 1977**

"Anyways, I asked Marlene to move in with me, but she said no!" Sirius Black relayed the story to his friends in an outraged tone, as if to suggest that his girlfriend not moving in with him immediately after graduation was the most preposterous thing in the world.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating, Sirius," Remus Lupin responded simply, "she must have a good reason to not want to move in with you."

"Did she say why?" Lily Evans asked, her long red hair loosely flowing in the light breeze while she held James' hand.

"Something about spending time with her parents..." Sirius grumbled under his breath stubbornly.

"Well there you go, Sirius," Remus concluded, "it's not just that she wants to avoid you or something."

As the group continued on down the street, Sirius gave up on the conversation, cursing under his breath at his friends and their rationality.

"Strange that Peter's ditched us again, right?" Remus asked the group after a long silent moment, "That has to be the fourth time this month."

James chuckled, "Maybe it's that Hufflepuff girl he's been seeing."

Lily seemed like she had been about to make a particularly witty comment, but suddenly halted in her path, green eyes growing wide. James turned to his girlfriend with a concerned expression, "Lily? What's wrong?"

Lily, however, didn't respond to him. Instead, her eyes were fixed several feet ahead of them. The only thing she dared to utter was an astonished, "Oh, Merlin."

It was a girl, probably around their age. She was laying on the ground unconscious, looking absolutely terrible. She had several large gashes, and blood seemed to be everywhere. She wore dirty, torn muggle clothes, and had a small purple bag falling out of her pocket. There was also a badly damaged wand clenched tightly in her left hand. Lily bent down and inspected the girl further, finding that there seemed to be some sort remnants of a glass object in her hands as well. It had been destroyed though, and shards of glass had scraped and torn all over both her hands.

Sirius gasped, a horrified expression crossing his face as the group examined this young girl. "_What the bloody hell_?" He murmured.

"We need to get her to St Mungo's." James said, his authoritative tone taking over.

oOo

The Unspeakable entered quickly into the whitewashed hospital room, robes billowing behind him. Healer Robinson stood over the girl, finishing up the many bandages that were being wrapped around her various wounds. Most of her injuries were able to be healed, but a few were slightly more severe, calling for long-term attention.

Remus, Sirius, James and Lily all stood against the wall of the small hospital room, anxiously waiting as Healer Robinson worked. They had wasted no time after finding the girl, taking her immediately to the Hospital. Once there, Healer Robinson had taken over. She was an accomplished woman, obviously knowing what she was doing. Upon their arrival, she had ordered the group of four to follow her into a room and explain the situation. From there, she had called an Unspeakable for this especially peculiar case. None of the others really understood why she needed the help of an Unspeakable, but they weren't going to argue.

"Drake Wyatt," The Unspeakable introduced himself, shaking the hands of Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily, then proceeding to the girl's bedside.

"I've managed to get her into a stable condition," Healer Robinson said, reminding everyone in the room of her vicious healing techniques. She really was a gifted woman. "We just don't know where she's come from, and look at her wand..." She handed Wyatt the wand which had previously been clenched in the girl's hand. The group of friends exchanged confused glances.

Wyatt inspected the wand meticulously, "I've never seen anything like this," He muttered under his breath, casting an exploratory spell over the stick of wood, "What kind of core is this?"

Robinson shrugged her shoulders "That's what I was wondering," It was strange seeing this woman so confused, she had seemed to be so intelligent and collected earlier. "It's like it's from the future or something..." She muttered this under her breath, eyeing the elegant wand.

Wyatt considered the girl for a long moment before saying anything. "Did she have anything else on her?" He questioned.

Healer Robinson's eyes lit up, "yes, she did." The woman handed over a small purple bag, which Wyatt inspected as well.

"Undetectable extension charm," he noted, removing various objects from the purse.

Within, there was a lot of clothing, many books, and even a tent. However, the only thing of any interest to the Unspeakable was a small wallet. He opened it and found something very peculiar: a muggle ID. "It says her name is Hermione Granger," he stated, eyes narrowing slightly as he continued to read the little card. "But..." the man furrowed his brow, worrying all other occupants of the hospital room, "This is odd."

"What?" James asked impatiently. It was the first any of them had spoken in a while. Healer Robinson read the ID over Wyatt's shoulder, and attained the same confused expression.

"It says here that she was born in 1978," Wyatt stated simply, staring at the object in his hands.

"That's not possible," Lily interjected, "it's only 1977 now."

"She can't be born next year," Sirius gave the Unspeakable a disbelieving look, "she's got to be at least seventeen."

Wyatt rubbed his forehead, inspecting the strange girl -Hermione- once again. "I'm going to call some other Unspeakables and run some tests." He left the room in a determined stride, leaving the four recent Hogwarts Graduates alone with Robinson and Hermione.

Healer Robinson seemed overwhelmed. She exhaled deeply, shaking her head at the girl, then turning back to the four friends. "It's nearly two in the morning, you all should go home and get some rest."

"What if she wakes up?" Remus voiced his concern, "We should be here."

"Judging by her injuries and the physical strain she has probably been subject to, she won't wake up for several hours." The Healer took on her authoritative tone, "I insist you kids go get some sleep, she will be in the same place tomorrow morning."

The four friends were reluctant to leave, but did so anyways, hoping that the next morning would bring more truth about this strange girl.

oOo

**June 13th, 1977**

James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily all ventured in to St Mungo's around nine the next morning in an effort to see Hermione once again. After the previous night they had all gone home worried sick, and more confused than ever.

Healer Robinson was there when they entered the room, looking over some papers and charts. She looked tired, as if she had worked all night.

"Any news?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Robinson looked up at them, "Unspeakable Wyatt and I have come to several conclusions."

"And?" Sirius questioned.

The Healer took a deep breath, "It seems that it is entirely possible that Hermione was born in 1978." The four friends looked at her doubtfully, urging her on, "There are certain tests and spells that allow us to detect if a person has been involved with Time Travel before."

"Time Travel." James stated simply, disbelief etched on his face.

Robinson nodded, "Hermione's test results were off the charts, signifying enormous amounts of time travel."

"No way." Sirius mumbled, "So she's managed to send herself back in time? That still doesn't explain how she got into this condition."

"I don't have an explanation for her injuries, all I know is that somehow, this girl has traveled through time and nearly gotten herself killed as well."

"So she's going to be okay?" Remus asked, speaking up for the first time.

Healer Robinson regarded him closely for a moment, no doubt noting the faint scars that littered his face. She was an expert Healer, and surely knew that he was a Werewolf. "She will need time to heal, but I expect that she will fully recover." The kind woman gave all of them a nice smile.

"I still don't understand how this is possible," Lily muttered, analysing the situation.

"Well, it looks like we're about to find out," Sirius said, pointing to Hermione. She was stirring in the bed, signifying her return to consciousness.

Everyone watched with apprehension as the girl awoke. Hermione opened two brown eyes in a slightly pained expression, wincing as she moved. She appeared to be surprised, and very confused. Nobody spoke for a long time while she examined each person within the room, eyes wavering on Remus, Sirius, James and Lily. She examined herself next, seeing the large bandage across one of her arms, and the little white scars that remained on her hands from the glass.

Remus felt an urge to say something. She looked more than distraught, and they didn't want a panic attack or anything. They still had no idea what had happened to her to put her into this state.

"Hermione?" The werewolf spoke softly, "Are you alright?" It was a stupid question to ask, because obviously she wasn't okay judging by what had happened to her. Never the less, Remus had felt the need to break the silence.

Hermione looked up at Remus, then back at her hands, not speaking.

"Dear," Healer Robinson began speaking in a kind tone, "do you know what happened to you?"

Hermione examined the Healer before her for a long moment, almost as if she wasn't even speaking English. Finally, the girl spoke in a hoarse, uncomfortable voice.

"No... I don't-" She paused nervously, "_I can't remember anything._"

oOo

**AN:** I am aware that in canon, Hermione's birthday is in 1979, but for the sake of the plot, bear with me and pretend that her birthday is in 1978.

I do hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. The beginning may be a bit slow, but I think it will turn out well once we get further into the plot. Please let me know what you think, and feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Things Begin

**Chapter Two: Things Begin**

_The existence of forgetting has never been proved: We only know that some things don't come to mind when we want them._

-Friedrich Nietzsche

* * *

"_I can't remember anything._"

Hermione felt panicked. She scoured her mind, looking for any memory or indication of what had happened. There was nothing. How did she get injured like this? How did she even end up here?

"Hermione," the woman in Healers robes looked very concerned, "I'm Healer Robinson. You are currently in St Mungo's Hospital. These four found you on a street side in London last night," She pointed to the group of friends, "Do you know what the date is?"

Hermione closed her eyes, sifting through what she had in her mind. For some reason, she couldn't bring any memories forward, but only facts. It was like somebody had cast a spell to delete all the things that had ever happened to her...

"Sometime in May?" Hermione murmured with closed eyes.

"And what year is it?"

"1998?"

She heard a sharp intake of breath from Healer Robinson, "It's not 1998, Hermione, it's 1977."

Hermione's eyes shot open. No way. She looked around the room, inspecting the Healer, then the four people standing in the room. She had never seen them before, but there was something eerie about them. Hermione didn't know why she knew the date, even if it was incorrect. She still couldn't find any memories, however. "How is that possible?" She finally asked, looking desperately to the people around her.

"We've run some tests, and it seems that you have traveled in time recently."

"Time travel?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Robinson nodded, "A lot of time travel."

Hermione leaned back in her little hospital bed, not knowing what to think. She just couldn't _remember_ anything. It was so frustrating, infuriating, even.

"Do _you_ know what happened to me?" The bushy haired witch asked, frustration seeping into her voice.

Robinson shook her head, then turned to the group standing behind her. None of them said anything.

Hermione exhaled loudly. There were so many mixed emotions within her. She didn't know whether to be terrified or angry. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She felt like crying, "It's like all my memories have disappeared. I can only remember a few facts, but nothing else."

The Healer seemed to consider this for a long moment.

Suddenly, a girl stepped forward, coming to stand beside Robinson. She had long red hair and strange green eyes. She cleared her throat nervously, "I read about some memory modifying charms in school... we had to write an essay on it. There are some spells similar to an Obliviate that can wipe someone's entire memory..." she seemed to reconsider her idea for a moment.

"Yes, I was wondering if that were possible." Robinson murmured, "But those sorts of spells require a great deal of skill on the part of the caster. It's very dark magic."

"Can it be broken?" One of the boys spoke up. He had short sandy hair, and a few peculiar scars running across his face. He looked very kind, in fact, they all looked very kind.

"I'll have to talk with Unspeakable Wyatt about it, but I do believe that eventually, some things can trigger the memories to return. No memory spell is completely irreversible. It's just a matter of difficulty." Robinson was obviously knew what she was talking about. She seemed to be a very intelligent woman.

Hermione felt a little flicker of hope through this strange and frightening situation. She really needed her memories back. Her mind reeled through what was going to happen in the future. She always liked to have a plan. She needed a plan... "Until then, what do I do?" her voice was small and quiet.

Robinson gave her a motherly smile, "You'll be staying in the hospital here until you're healed completely, and in that time, hopefully we can give you your memories back and figure out this whole situation."

Hermione felt a little comforted by the idea, but there was still a large part of her mind wondering what would happen if she never got her memories back. She didn't have any family or friends in this time. Where would she go? Could she even get back to her original time? Her head was starting to ache from all this stress.

"I have other patients to attend to, Hermione," Robinson said, "but I will be checking in. In the meantime, I think these four would be happy to stay with you if you have any questions or worries." With a smile, the woman was out the door.

Hermione examined the group of four once again. There was something strange about them... but she couldn't place it...

"Alright then, time for introductions," One of them said brightly. He had long black hair and a handsome face. "I'm Sirius Black," she felt like she should remember that name, "This is James Potter and Lily Evans," he pointed to the boy with the glasses and the girl with the red hair. They were holding hands, "And this is Remus Lupin," he pointed to the one with the scars on his face.

Hermione put on her best smile, "Well, I would introduce myself, but it seems that you all know my name already..." she furrowed her brow, "How do you know my name?"

The one with the glasses -James- walked around to a table, and handed her an ID card, "This was in your bag."

Hermione inspected the card. It said her name, birthdate, and various other facts. It was vaguely familiar. She nodded, "did you find anything else?"

"There were some camping supplies," Sirius muttered, confusion lacing his tone.

They were looking at her like she would know why she had camping supplies. Hermione shrugged, "I told you guys, I don't remember."

oOo

**June 16th, 1977**

"I've brought the food!" Sirius said excitedly, entering the hospital room with two large pizza boxes. Behind him, Lily, James, and Remus all filed in.

Hermione smiled, feeling her stress dissipate as the four of them joined her. It had been three days since she woke up in this hospital, and things were still hectic. Healer Robinson and Unspeakable Wyatt were constantly checking in, with no further advances or information on her situation. Hermione was always stressed, trying desperately to regain her memory. They had even called in some sort of psychologist to talk to her, but it did nothing to help.

The only thing that Hermione really enjoyed was spending time with these four friends. She still didn't know them well, but she loved it when they came to visit. It was like her loneliness and fear died away when one of them entered the room.

"We treat you to the finest food, Hermione," James joked, taking a chair in between Lily and Sirius while they opened the boxes of pizza.

"I should be very grateful," Hermione murmured happily, "It's so much better than the hospital food."

Remus grimaced, coming to sit down on the edge of Hermione's bed, "I hate the food here."

"Terrible," Hermione agreed, grinning at him.

Remus was really wonderful. Hermione had discovered that within a day of staying at the Hospital. Him and Lily often made extra visits just to check in on Hermione while James and Sirius were off doing their Auror training. Remus was just so kind and understanding, and he was intelligent. The Marauders -minus Peter- had quickly learned that Hermione Granger was an intellectual, and could hold hour long conversations with Remus or Lily, who sometimes struggled to keep up with her racing mind.

"So, we've got news," Lily beamed, pulling Hermione out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Hermione urged the girl on, seeing that Remus, Sirius, and James looked just as excited.

"We've found these two flats in London, and they're _amazing_," Lily gushed.

Hermione grinned, knowing full well of the group's recent house search. They'd just finished school at Hogwarts, and were now looking for flats to stay in so that they could all be close together.

"They're right across the hall from each other," Remus mentioned, "One for Sirius, Peter, and I, and one for James and Lily."

Hermione frowned a bit at the mention of Peter's name. She hadn't met him yet, and apparently he was one of their closest friends. "Am I ever going to meet Peter?" She inquired.

James shrugged, "He's off on vacation with his parents at the moment, somewhere in America..."

"You'll meet him eventually," Sirius muttered, taking a large bite of his pizza.

Hermione nodded, pushing out the strange feeling of discomfort associated with his name. Grabbing some pizza, she was happy to have some relaxed time with her new friends. She did consider them friends, mainly due to the fact that they kept coming back to visit her. At first, she didn't want to be a burden to them, but all of them seemed very concerned for her, after all, they had been the ones to find her beaten up on some street in London. So they were her friends, the only friends she had in this strange situation.

oOo

**June 19th, 1977**

The hospital room felt like it was getting smaller with each passing day. Luckily, Hermione was allowed to leave and roam the hospital whenever she pleased, but they still weren't discharging her. She felt claustrophobic, suffocated by whitewashed walls and kind nurses. But then again, it wasn't like she had anywhere in particular that she could go after she got out of here. She didn't even remember her parents.

Apparently, Healer Robinson had done a small search for her mum and dad, and found them. They were muggles, and after hearing their names Hermione could vaguely imagine them in her mind, but Robinson and Wyatt had spoken about it and decided that Hermione was not allowed to see her parents. Hermione didn't argue with the fact that it would disrupt the timeline, but she still hated not having a family.

The bushy haired witch was currently laying in her hospital bed, staring at a photograph mounted on the wall. It was a picture of a little cottage on the top of a large hill. She quite liked the picture, but at this moment it made her feel lonelier.

Hermione felt like she was going to have some sort of mental breakdown any day now. Maybe that's why they were keeping her in this hospital. There were just so many issues weighing down on her, and she had nothing to do but sit in a hospital all day. To be honest, Hermione was scared of what the future entailed. She desperately wanted her memory back, but a part of her didn't know if that memory was worth having. She had been attacked pretty badly, and maybe her past was just filled with horrors that she didn't want to know of.

The psychologist had been in a couple times to talk to her. It was strange to her that a hospital like St Mungo's even hired a psychologist. His name was Dr. Strauss. He seemed like a decent doctor, but he hadn't made any progress with Hermione. He just wanted to talk about feelings like pent up anger and sadness. Hermione didn't need to think about her feelings, she just wanted her memories back. Dr. Strauss had most likely realized this and started to leave her alone while he tried to figure out a new solution.

There were, of course, good things about being in this hospital: the Marauders. Lily, Remus, James and Sirius were wonderful friends, and she loved spending time with them. They were busy people, but they still offered up most of their free time to her. In the past week, she had seen them every day for at least a half hour or so, and it was great. Getting to know them at first had been a little strange, but now they were nothing less than great friends in her eyes, even though she had only known them for a week. When they were around, her loneliness and fear just dissipated.

Remus had quickly become her favorite out of the group. She loved talking to him, and he always came to visit, even when some of the others couldn't. He was very intelligent, and could hold a massively intellectual conversation. He was also devastatingly kind, and she firmly believed that he would never do anything to hurt anyone. There was also a bit of the Marauder humor in him that had probably rubbed off from James or Sirius. Hermione like Remus a lot, and spending time with him was by far her favorite of anything in her strange new life.

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of the door opening. She looked up to find Remus and Sirius. She beamed at them, and her mood was immediately brighter.

"Hello," Remus grinned, coming to sit down on the end of Hermione's bed. It had become his usual spot, and Hermione quite liked it. Sirius pulled up a chair and gracefully slipped into it.

"It's my lunch break, and James and Lily have a date or something, so Remus and I thought we'd stop by," Sirius explained.

"How's Auror training?" Hermione inquired, eager to talk about something other than herself. It always seemed like they wanted to talk about her when they visited, and frankly, she was sick of herself at this point.

SIrius shrugged, "boring as ever."

Remus chuckled, "He's jealous because James is doing better than him."

"Am not!" Sirius groaned in a very childish manner.

Hermione grinned, "Anyways, I know that James and Sirius are becoming Aurors, but you haven't told me what you're doing with your new post-Hogwarts life, Remus."

Remus sighed, "I'm waiting to hear back from the owner of Flourish and Blotts. I'd like to work there."

"That's the bookstore in Diagon Alley," Hermione recited.

"You remembered that?" Remus looked surprised.

Hermione nodded, not sure if that was a significant memory, or just a fact floating around in her mind. "It's not that important," She finally murmured, playing with the hem of the sheets on her bed.

They were silently for a while, and the mood seemed to darken.

"How's the healing going, then?' Remus asked, and Hermione could see him eyeing the bandage on her arm.

"I feel fine, to be honest," Hermione said, "I don't know why I'm still here." To be honest, Hermione did know why she was still in the hospital- they were concerned over her mental state.

She looked to the small bandage on her arm. The gash couldn't be healed very easily, especially since it took awhile for Hermione to get to the hospital. There was also a cut across her abdomen, apparently the work of another sectumsempra. Hermione shivered, wondering who had done this to her. She looked down at her hands, to see the flurry of scars and little criss-crossing lines across her palms, the result of some shattered glass. She briefly wondered how that happened.

All these injuries were a mystery to her.

After a moment, Hermione spoke again, "I tried to produce a patronus the other day," she said it quietly, feeling the urge to tell Remus and Sirius.

"And?" Remus urged her on.

She shook her head, "I can't."

"That's just because you don't have any memories," Remus said quietly, "once you have happy memories again, you'll be able to produce one," he reached for her hand and clasped it in his.

Hermione frowned, "What if I don't get my memories back, and what if I'm just living in this Hospital for the rest of my life? I'm not going to make any progress with anything just sitting here."

Remus and Sirius shared a long look at each other. Hermione watched them warily.

After a moment, Sirius turned to her, with a slight smile, "Look, Hermione, we've all been talking about it, and we'd like to offer you something - if you want to, of course - you can move in with us."

Hermione was stunned. They wanted her to move in with them.

"When you get discharged from here, of course," Remus muttered nervously.

She was grinning from ear to ear, "That'd be amazing."

"You really want to?" Remus and Sirius both seemed shocked.

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "I mean, I need somewhere to go, and I really want to get out of this place. If you guys are really offering and you're really okay with it, I'd love to."

They were both smiling happily. "Great," Sirius said, "Now I've got to get back to work, and visiting hours are almost over, so we'll see you later, Hermione."

Remus got up as well, letting go of Hermione's hand, "We'll talk about this more tomorrow." He muttered, grinning as he left.

Hermione couldn't help the large smile on her own face. She really felt so much happier now. They were going to let her live with them! It was perfect.

A part of Hermione was nervous, of course. She still hadn't met Peter, and she wondered how long they would tolerate her presence before she had to get her own place and support herself. And what if she never got any of her memories back, and had to just live on with only the memories of after her injury. There were still many worries, but it didn't really matter because she was going to get out of this hospital, and she was going to go live with her wonderful new friends.

Hermione laid down in the hospital bed, finding that the room didn't feel quite as lonely as it once had before.

oOo

**AN:** To clarify on Hermione's condition: In case you haven't picked up on it, the spell Voldemort cast caused Hermione to lose her memories. Her mental condition after this spell can best be described as a condition called Retrograde Amnesia:

"Retrograde amnesia - often thought of as the opposite of anterograde amnesia. The patient cannot remember events that occurred before his/her trauma, but remembers things that happened after it normally."

-Source: Medical News Today

Now, this isn't exactly what has happened to her, but it's very similar. Her condition will be elaborated upon more later.

Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback on the last chapter. I always love getting reviews, and you guys are just great. Next chapter will include Hermione going home with the Marauders, that's something to look forward to, right?


	3. Lie Low

**Chapter Three: Lie Low**

_Home is not where you live but where they understand you._

-Christian Morgenstern

* * *

"Ready to go?" Remus said quietly, entering Hermione's hospital room. She was standing beside her bed, shoving her belongings into the charmed purple bag.

"Yeah," Hermione looked up, giving him a nervous smile. She didn't really know what to expect, going home with her new friends that she had barely known for a week. It was strange and she was both nervous and excited to get out of St Mungo's.

"You'll love it," Remus said with a kind smile while they exited the room, venturing down the hall, "it's right by the Leaky Cauldron, so Diagon Alley is never far away. It's also very spacious, so I do hope that offsets the fact that you've got to live with a bunch of boys."

Hermione giggled, "Don't worry about me living with you boys, I'll be sure to keep you all in your place."

The two proceeded to the waiting room of the hospital, where Sirius, James, and Lily were standing. All of them seemed to be more than excited that Hermione was getting out of the hospital.

Even if this was a bit scary for Hermione, she had to admit to herself that anything was better than staying at St Mungo's any longer. She had healed up, and would rather never see a hospital bed again as long as she lived. Healer Robinson had put up a bit of a fight with Hermione leaving, wanting to keep the girl a couple more days, but Sirius and Remus both argued vehemently with the woman on Hermione's behalf. Finally, Robinson agreed to discharge the girl as long as she made sure to take care of herself and not get into any more trouble.

It frightened Hermione a bit that there was a possibility that her attacker was still out there. Even though she wanted to get out of the Hospital, she found herself worrying about some criminal roaming the streets and attacking her again. Unspeakable Wyatt had done extensive research into who could have attacked her, and Aurors had been assigned to the case as well, but they had found nothing of significance. Wyatt finally concluded that her attacker must have come from her own time, and therefore, they could not apprehend him or her.

"Ready to go?" Lily beamed, hugging Hermione tightly. She seemed the most excited out of anyone to have Hermione coming home. Possibly because she needed another girl around the flat.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Hermione muttered.

The group set off, and before long, they had arrived outside the building. Muggles were scattered about the street, and as they ventured inside, Hermione found that she quite liked the feel of the place. Sirius lead them up to the second floor, pointing to the first door on the left, "this is our flat," he motioned to Remus and himself, "and James and Lily's is down there," He pointed to two doors down the hall.

The flat was opened and Hermione followed Sirius inside with the others trailing behind her. It was rather spacious, mostly due to a slight absence of furniture, which was obviously a result of the new homeowners that the boys were.

There was a couch, armchair, and old television immediately upon Hermione's entrance. There was also a bookshelf filled with books along the wall that made Hermione smile. Across the small room was a little kitchen, and a table that could seat four or so. Looking around the flat, Hermione counted two doors to separate bedrooms.

"It's very nice," Hermione smiled, looking around once again.

Sirius walked over and sat down on the couch, grinning happily, "We were lucky to get away with this flat, James and Lily's is much smaller."

Hermione inspected the two bedrooms, wondering about certain sleeping arrangements.

Remus seemed to pick up on her thoughts, "If you want, you can take one of the bedrooms, Hermione. I don't mind sleeping on the couch for a while. We were looking into magical expansion anyways…"

"Don't worry about that," Sirius sighed, "Hermione can just take my room. I'll probably be over at Marlene's most nights anyways."

Hermione felt her cheeks redden a little, "Thanks, Sirius, but you don't have to do that."

"Take his room," Lily whispered, coming up to put a hand on Hermione's arm, "He'll barely ever be sleeping here."

A few laughs burst out throughout the group while Sirius just shrugged nonchalantly.

"I thought Peter was staying here as well?" Hermione asked, remembering a conversation in the hospital. They had mentioned various times that Peter was going to be living with them.

The room seemed to gain a little tension at that point. After a moment or two, James spoke, "He's still staying with his parents... decided not to move in. Don't worry though; you'll still get to meet him. I think he's coming over tonight."

Hermione nodded, feeling a bit like she had invaded their friendship and kicked Peter out. She didn't even know the guy yet, and she wondered if he hated her.

"Alright," Lily clapped her hands together, "It's time for us to see if we can uncover a little more about you, Hermione."

Hermione stiffened slightly. She still had no memories of her past. All she could remember was waking up in the hospital and everything that happened after. She had no clue what Lily was up to...

"Lily…" James began with a confused look at his girlfriend.

"Relax, James," Lily waved him off, flipping her red hair over her shoulder, "Hermione, I was thinking, what better way to get to know you than see what you like? Maybe you'll remember something."

"Alright," Hermione nodded, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

Lily moved to one of the shelves by the television, "Do you like muggle movies?" She pointed to the cabinet with various titles. It seemed like someone had a bit of a collection.

Hermione shrugged, "Not particularly." Nothing on the shelf rang a bell.

"Quidditch?" Lily nodded towards someone's broom, which was sloppily propped up against a wall.

"No," Hermione grimaced, "I hate flying."

"That's something," Remus' voice came from behind her.

Lily nodded, moving on "Books?" she inquired, pointing to the bookshelf.

Hermione smiled, feeling a little spark of a memory as she examined a certain book entitled, "Hogwarts: A History". She didn't know much about herself or her past, but she surely must have read that book before, maybe even several times. She could visualize many pages in her mind.

"Yeah... I like books," Hermione murmured, still grinning to herself.

Somewhere behind her, she heard Sirius mutter something to James, "Merlin, she really is perfect for Moony."

Hermione furrowed her brow, realizing that Moony was Remus' nickname. She had heard them call him that before... and it brought back a slight, hazy memory of Remus. She couldn't really tell what the memory was of, however, and it seemed to float out of reach before she could examine it.

"We should make a list!" Lily burst out suddenly.

"A list?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah!" She was obviously quite excited about her idea, "A list about you," she pointed directly at Hermione, "And every time we find out something else about you, we add it to the list!"

Hermione couldn't help but let out a little giggle upon hearing the idea. It sounded ridiculous at first, but as she considered it more, she kind of liked it. A list would be an interesting way of keeping her spirits up when she discovered something about herself. If Hermione had learned something over the past few days spent with the Marauders, it was that Lily liked little projects like this. The redhead had been trying very hard to accommodate Hermione and help out, so the least Hermione could do was encourage this idea...

"That sounds like a pretty good idea," Hermione grinned, and Lily immediately sprung into action, digging out some paper and a pen.

Hermione followed the girl into the kitchen -which was actually more of a kitchenette- and read over her shoulder as she began to write on the paper. James, Remus, and Sirius followed the girls, seeming to be quite amused.

The group worked on the list for a few minutes, finally coming up with everything they had so far:

_Hermione Granger_

_Born September 19th, 1977_

_Muggleborn_

_Likes books, especially Hogwarts: A History_

_Hates Quidditch/Flying_

Lily halted, "Anything else?" she looked around the room to Remus, James, and Sirius. They all shrugged.

Hermione suddenly felt dejected, staring down at this pitiful summation of who she was. It was a decent idea, but right now it made her feel so lost. She barely knew who she was. Her identity could be summed up in a few words.

Lily grimaced, obviously having realized that this wasn't a very good thing for Hermione at the moment. She looked up to the boys, a silent request for help.

Remus sprung forward, "Hermione," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's short now, but soon we'll find tons of different things to add to it." He smiled gently and Hermione nodded in response.

Hermione found Remus' words to be encouraging, and moved to take the list from Lily, then getting some tape and examining the flat once more. She finally settled on the refrigerator, pasting her little list right onto the cold surface. Stepping back, she decided that it was quite a nice first addition to the new flat she would be living in. She smiled a little, telling herself that soon this list would be filled to the brim with all sorts of information about her. She just had to figure it out.

oOo

A few hours later found the group of friends enjoying a dinner of take-out that Sirius had gone to pick up. Hermione was settled into what used to be Sirius' room, and was quite happy with the flat that she would be taking up residence in.

"Peter will be over any minute," James mumbled through bites of his dinner.

Hermione felt a strange stirring of what seemed like nervousness deep in her gut. She didn't quite know why she was feeling like this; it was only Peter, and he seemed like a nice guy from what she'd heard. Maybe her anxiety was because she wanted him to accept her into their group of friends. That was probably the reason. She would muscle through this meeting tonight, and have the comfort of a nice non-hospital bed to sleep in afterwards.

After only a few moments, there was a slight knock on the door.

"Come in!" Sirius called.

Hermione sat at the little table in the kitchen facing away from the front door. As the door opened, she turned to see Peter Pettigrew entering the small flat.

If asked, Hermione couldn't exactly understand why she did what she did in those next few moments. It happened rapidly, without giving the young witch much time to think.

Peter smiled nervously as he shut the door behind him. He looked young with shaggy blond hair and a round face. Hermione stood quickly, recognizing his face from _somewhere_. He was younger, but she had definitely seen him before.

An anger that Hermione couldn't explain sprouted up somewhere in her chest. She didn't understand why she knew it, but she knew that he was evil. It seemed so childish in her mind, but she firmly believed that there was something horribly wrong about him. The bushy haired witch stalked across the room, retrieving her wand from the waistband of her jeans and pointing it directly at Peter. He gave her a frightened glance, and then looked to the other four desperately.

"Hermione!"

It was Lily's outraged voice that she heard first. Hermione realized that she looked absolutely mad pointing her wand at this guy whom she had never met before, but she _knew_ him. Somewhere within the depths of her mind and all the memories she had lost, she knew him.

Peter's hands were raised in surrender, and he was looking at her as if she was some cruel murderer out to get him.

"What the hell is she doing?" Sirius' whispered voice floated into her ear.

"You…" Hermione struggled to find words, "I- I know you…"

Lily's arm was on Hermione's shoulder, "Please put your wand down, Hermione."

Hermione did so with a distraught expression. She watched Peter warily for a long moment before turning to Lily, whose eyes were calm, but concerned. Hermione couldn't find words to explain what had just happened. She looked over to the kitchen where Sirius, Remus, and James were all standing and watching her.

"I should go," Peter murmured, calling the attention away from Hermione.

Nobody spoke, and Peter seemed to give the boys a confused look before he slipped back out the door. The end of his brief visit decreased some of the tension, but it was still undeniably awkward.

Hermione looked back to the kitchen. Everyone was still watching her. She felt sick. What had she done? That little outburst would probably scare them off and she'd have nowhere to live. No friends. No memories.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked gently, stepping over to where Hermione and Lily stood.

Hermione swallowed dryly "I- I think so," she watched Remus, surprised to see that he didn't look particularly angry with her. She let out a large breath that she'd been holding for too long, "I'm so sorry." Tears were prickling her eyes.

"It's okay," Lily murmured, "Did you remember something?"

Had she remembered something? No. It wasn't a memory that had come to her, just a feeling… a feeling of intense anger toward Peter, who she'd never met before. Unless she _had_ met him before and simply couldn't remember it now.

"No," Hermione responded, "I'm not really sure why I did that."

Sirius and James were looking befuddled, and Remus just nodded. God, why was he being so kind to her? He was always so kind.

"He probably reminded me of someone," she suggested, silently praying that they wouldn't ship her back to St Mungo's for more tests and conversations with psychologists. "I think I just need to get some sleep."

"Okay," Remus nodded.

Lily gave Hermione a half smile as she exited the room, quickly retreating to her new bedroom. Once Hermione was on her own, she cast a quick silencing charm and allowed her tears to flow. She sat on the edge of the unfamiliar bed and cried until she was tired enough to fall asleep.

oOo

"So," Remus said, sitting on the couch beside Hermione, "We're planning on all going out to dinner tonight, and maybe stopping by Diagon Alley for a while. Would you like to come?"

Hermione considered Remus for a moment. It had been a few days since the incident with Peter, and she hadn't really done much of anything since. She had mostly just sat around the flat, reading and trying to regain whatever memory she could. To be honest, Hermione was going slightly stir-crazy from being inside for so long. She needed to get outside, but everything around her was so new and unfamiliar. Would she be able to handle this?

"Who's going?" Hermione asked, thinking mostly about Peter.

"James, Lily, Sirius, Marlene, and I."

Hermione hadn't met Marlene, but luckily, she didn't give her the same anxious feeling that Peter had given her.

"I guess I'd like to," Hermione said, chewing her lower lip.

"Don't look so worried about it," Remus smiled, "you'll be fine."

He stood from the couch, but Hermione stopped him, "Remus," she murmured, "You guys aren't mad at me about what happened with Peter, right?"

"No, of course not," Remus said honestly, "we were just confused at first. Everyone knows that things are tough for you."

Hermione nodded, studying the corners of the coffee table in front of her, "I'm just trying to figure this out… everything is so confusing."

She wouldn't admit it to Remus, but she had felt absolutely horrible these past few days. All the time, she just felt like crying. When Hermione had lost her memories, she had also lost her identity and sense of security. Everything was so much scarier than it should have been. The only people she had were Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily. She didn't want to lose them.

"We'll figure this out," Remus gave her a strong smile, and she felt her heart lift a little with that simple gesture.

oOo

**AN**: I went through a pretty bad stint of Writer's Block with this chapter. I managed to muscle through it, but it did turn out kind of short and it took me a while to update. Hopefully, you all can help me out with some encouragement so the next chapter is longer and comes out sooner.

Reviews are always appreciated.


	4. Moving On

**Chapter Four: Moving On**

_People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff._

-The Doctor, _Doctor Who_

* * *

Dinner with the gang was setting itself up to be an interesting affair for Hermione. She was ready by six o'clock on the night of, hoping that her first real venture out into public wouldn't be a complete disaster. Remus soon joined her by the door to the flat, giving her a reassuring smile.

"You and Marlene will get along great," he said quietly, "don't worry about that."

As if that was the only thing Hermione had to worry about. Did he know how much it scared her to be doing this? Going into public and possibly facing her attacker, or someone who wanted to hurt her again… it was terrifying. The most frightening part was that the boys wanted to take her by Diagon Alley before dinner, to see if they could get any memories back to her. Frankly, the idea of regaining her memory was good, but scary. She didn't know if she was ready for all these elements of her confusing past.

Hermione gave Remus a forced smile and let him lead her by the arm into the narrow hallway, where James and Lily were waiting. They both gave Remus and Hermione a strange, yet pleased look upon seeing their hooked arms.

"Finally," James smirked, "Let's go, then."

The small group headed off for the muggle streets outside, not having to wait for Sirius or Marlene, who would be joining them at the restaurant later.

Remus had been right about the flat, it was very conveniently located near the entrance to Diagon Alley. Soon the group of four was stepping out into the cobblestone street full of witches, wizards, and a variety of magical shops.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at her surroundings. She had to admit to herself, this wasn't as terribly frightening as she initially thought it would be. Diagon Alley was just an innocuous old shopping district that didn't seem to trigger any sort of significant memory relapse.

She examined each shop around her, and most of them called forth some distant impression or recollection, but nothing more than an acknowledgment that the store existed. It wasn't like and _real_ memories were coming back to her.

"Anything?" James asked, looking to the witch who was currently inspecting the storefront of Olivander's.

Hermione shook her head, "Let's continue on." She found herself somewhat excited to be seeing the rest of the street, wondering if all the shops would be on this level of foggy familiarity. A large part of her had been scared to bring forth a memory before, but now that part was somewhat disappointed, and hoped for a memory to be triggered.

The remaining walk down Diagon Alley was turning out to be a bit of a disappointment. All the shops were the same. Remus, James, and Lily would look at Hermione expectantly whenever they came to a new group of stores, and she would just shrug in response.

However, something significant did happen upon their arrival at the end of the street, where an abandoned old store caused Hermione to halt her steps, and stare at it curiously.

Remus gave James and Lily a worried look, wondering why something that wasn't even a functioning store could be significant. Hermione just examined the two-story building sitting precariously on the street corner. She felt like something was _missing_.

"Hermione?" Lily's voice drew her from her thoughts, and she turned to see the three of them eyeing her suspiciously.

"Sorry," she muttered, "Let's go to dinner."

oOo

"Oi!" Sirius stood and waved to Lily, James, Remus, and Hermione as they entered the little restaurant. He was at a table off in the corner, with a pretty blond girl sitting beside him.

Hermione assumed that the girl was Marlene, and felt a rush of anxiety. The last time she had met one of their friends, she had nearly attacked him. She prayed to herself that Marlene wouldn't trigger the reaction Peter had.

Remus seemed to notice Hermione's hesitation, and stood beside her while Lily and James rushed over to the table. He reached for Hermione's hand, grasping it gently in his and smiling at her.

"It'll be fine," He whispered, pulling her toward the group of friends. In that moment, Hermione couldn't have been any more grateful for Remus' reassuring behavior.

"Hermione, this is Marlene," Lily introduced the two.

Marlene gave Hermione a huge grin, and rushed forward to envelop her in an unexpected hug. Hermione released Remus' hand and hugged the girl back, finding her friendly demeanor to be quite welcome in comparison to all that had happened with Peter.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Marlene said, pulling back, "Sirius has been talking about you non-stop."

Hermione blushed, "Great to meet you too."

Dinner went surprisingly smooth for Hermione. She sat between Remus and Lily, realizing that with people like these surrounding her, she didn't really have anything to be afraid of, especially a girl like this.

Marlene immediately immersed them all in a thorough description of how Alice and Frank – some of their other friends – were now engaged. At the mention of Franks last name, Longbottom, Hermione felt a twinge of memory for a slight moment. She made a mental note to ask Remus about Frank in the future, wondering if it would uncover more of her past.

Before she knew it, Hermione was leaving the restaurant, actually hoping to see Marlene again sometime in the future. She was a very nice girl, and Hermione could see why she got along with the group so well.

While they made their way back to the flat, Hermione caught Remus' eye.

"You did great," He murmured, reaching for her hand once again.

Hermione grinned proudly to herself, finding that she quite liked it when Remus held her hand.

oOo

The following Wednesday found Hermione reading a book on the couch. A few days prior, she had found out that most of the books were part of Remus's collection. He had told her that she could use them anytime she wanted, and she intended to do just that. The books were somewhat shabby, and had obviously been used by many others, but Hermione could care less. Books were books, and she enjoyed them.

She was currently immersed in a Muggle novel Remus had somehow acquired; it was a rather intriguing murder mystery that Hermione had been reading all day.

The witch jumped when she heard the door to the flat click open. She panicked for a second; turning to look at the entryway behind her, but found that it was only Sirius and Remus.

"And where have you two been?" Hermione asked. This morning when she woke up, neither had been in the flat. It hadn't worried Hermione, because she knew that both of them had jobs to do, and other things that took up their time – unlike her. They had been gone for hours now, and it was nearly two in the afternoon. Remus normally came home to eat his lunch with her during his break, but he hadn't today, that was what had worried her. It _was_ a bit suspicious.

Remus and Sirius looked at Hermione anxiously, then at each other. There was obviously a secret floating about between them.

Hermione felt a sudden rush of guilt. _Who was she, their mother_? She had no right to be interrogating them like she had been prepared to do just a few moments ago. They were independent adults and she was just a nuisance they had found on the street somewhere in London.

"I'm sorry," she exhaled, "It's really none of my business."

Remus moved to sit on the couch beside her, sensing her internal anger. "Hermione, it is your business, you're allowed to know where we are. Sorry I missed lunch, I had to take an unexpected day off of work."

"Why?" Her concern was evident.

Remus looked to Sirius, who nodded subtly, then moved to find something to eat in the small kitchen.

"Well," he turned back to Hermione, "Sirius and I had a bit of business to take care of this morning. See, we're members of this organization called the Order of the Phoenix-"

Something seemed to spark within Hermione. She gasped and looked at Remus with an astonished expression.

Remus was rather astonished as well. He examined her closely, "You know about the Order of the Phoenix, don't you?"

Hermione saw Sirius walk towards them from the kitchen, the same look gracing his face. The young witch called forth what she could remember of this strange organization, "It's a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore, created to fight Voldemort." She couldn't dig up much information from her clouded mind other than that. It was really quite frustrating.

Remus turned to Sirius, and they seemed to be having a silent shouting match with each other. Finally, Sirius stepped towards her, "were you a member of the Order?" he asked simply.

Hermione chewed her lower lip, "I'm not sure. I don't remember being a member, but I know what it is."

The three of them contemplated this for a long moment, before Hermione spoke again, "Can I join?"

Remus and Sirius stared at her, shocked.

"I've been holed up in this flat for too long," Hermione set her book down and stood up, crossing her arms defiantly, "I need to get myself a life before I go completely mad. I've been thinking that I want to get a job, and maybe I can also join the Order. It would be good for me."

"Hermione," Remus sighed, "Are you sure you're ready for that? I mean, a job is a pretty big deal, and you want to join the Order as well? Do you think it's safe out there for you?"

She frowned at him, obviously irritated. Him and Sirius both acted so protective of her, like she was a fragile piece of glass.

"I can do it," the witch said sternly.

Sirius came to her rescue at that point, "I agree," he said, "Hermione doesn't need to be staying in this flat forever. If she joins the Order, it's not like she'll be going off to face Death Eaters alone. One of us will be with her all the time."

"And if I get a job," Hermione began, "maybe I can work with you, Remus. Flourish and Blotts is a great place that I'd love to work at, if they have an opening, of course. I wouldn't be in danger if I worked with you."

Remus paused for a long moment, and then nodded, "I suppose that's fine… we don't want you going mad in this flat."

Hermione grinned triumphantly.

"Wait," Sirius was obviously deep in thought, "If you know Dumbledore, does that mean you went to Hogwarts?"

"More importantly," Remus cut in, "If you know about the Order, does that mean you were fighting You-Know-Who in the time you came from?"

Hermione stood silently, bewildered.

"I think it's time we have a conversation with Dumbledore," Sirius said, looking to Remus, who nodded in response.

oOo

Hogwarts brought back a burst of vague memories: running through the corridors, studying in the library, walking around the Black Lake, and sitting in the Great Hall. But they weren't _real_ memories to Hermione. They were more so just facts, or impressions. They proved that she went to school here, but not that she was capable of getting her life and memories back. She couldn't remember classmates or teachers, just places and ideas.

"Anything?" Remus murmured to Hermione. He held her hand in his as they entered the school grounds. She had started to realize how much she liked holding his hand, but still wasn't quite sure why she enjoyed it.

The witch shook her head, deciding that it wasn't worth trying to explain to Remus how her "memories" were coming back. Remus nodded solemnly.

The school was empty except for the few teachers who stayed around over the summer. The outer courtyard was warm and sunny, but felt strangely vacant to Hermione, Remus, and Sirius.

As the trio passed the Great Hall, Hermione felt a strange spark of some memory within the depths of her mind.

It was only there for a second. A few flashes of _something_. The first was a man's face, with a strange tattoo spiraling down to his jaw. The next of which was a terrifying woman, letting out a Cruciatus curse at the top of her lungs. The final was a cold, snake-like face, scowling towards her.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, staring straight ahead towards the Great Hall.

"_Voldemort_."

Her voice was only a slight whisper, as she recognized that third, pale face, but it was enough for the boys to hear.

"What did you just say?" Sirius looked back at her, alarm very evident on his handsome face. Remus mimicked his expression.

Hermione sputtered for a moment, trying to make sense of what she had just experienced. This sliver of a flashback was so different from all the others. She had seen the faces of three people, one of which, she knew to be Voldemort. The memory of his name had come back to her easily. On the other hand, the names of the man with the tattoo and the strange woman were nowhere to be found.

"I- I don't know," she fiddled with the hem of her jumper, "I think I remembered something."

Remus looked back and forth down the corridor, before looking to Sirius, "We need to get to Dumbledore's office."

Sirius nodded, and the three set off to find the Headmaster, Hermione still heavily shaken.

oOo

"Come in," Professor Dumbledore's voice beckoned the trio within his office.

Sirius stepped inside first, "Sorry to come on such short notice, Professor, but we have a bit of a predicament."

"Of course," the old man nodded, "Take a seat, have a lemon drop."

Hermione and Remus entered behind Sirius, and took their seats, both looking very tense.

"So, tell me, what is the meaning of this visit? It seems that something is bothering the three of you." Dumbledore said calmly.

"Professor," Remus began, "This is Hermione Granger."

"Ah yes," the old man stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I have heard about the mysterious Time Traveler that turned up in St Mungo's… and apparently you've lost your memory as well?"

Hermione furrowed her brow. She hadn't thought that news of her arrival had traveled to this man; but then again, he seemed to know just about everything.

"Yeah," Sirius leaned forward in his chair, "but that's not why we're here."

"Oh?" Dumbledore looked to Hermione.

"I want to join the Order," she said simply. Dumbledore's raised eyebrow urged her on, "I'm in need of something to occupy my time, and I think I can help the Order. I believe that I might have been a member in my own time. Maybe I can help you."

The Headmaster considered her for a long time; "I don't believe you will remain without you memories for long, Hermione. I think that in time, you will remember."

It was an off topic response, but Hermione felt her heart lift hopefully upon hearing it. Remus gave her hand a light squeeze.

"So," Dumbledore cocked his head to the side, "Have you regained any memories so far?"

"A few," the witch sighed, "but none of them are what I believe to be real memories. They're just ideas… a bunch of points that I can't put together in the right order. I know that I went to school here, and that I was involved with some sort of fight against Voldemort." Her eyes flickered around the office, thinking of this school that she had probably grown up with, "There are happy memories at this school, as well as some very sad ones."

Sirius and Remus were both staring at her, bewildered.

"That's very interesting," Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

"So can she join the Order?" Sirius seemed to regain his composure.

"I trust your judgment, boys, and it seems like Hermione would be a very beneficial addition to the Order," He looked back to Hermione," I think you can be of valuable help to our forces, and we would be glad to have you, but you must understand that we do not know your past, and there are some things that you cannot be trusted with… for the sake of the Order. It is not that I do not trust you, just that none of us can trust your past."

"I understand," Hermione's tone was serious, because she _did_ understand. She knew this was coming, or at least a part of her did. To some extent, she didn't trust her own past. That was one of the reasons why she feared regaining her memories in the first place.

Remus and Sirius were silent, but seemed to be happy about their new addition to the Order.

"I hope to see you at our next Order meeting, Hermione," Dumbledore smiled, "I'm sure the boys and Miss Evans can help you find your way."

"Of course, thank you professor."

oOo

That evening found Hermione and Remus sitting on the couch beside each other, each lounging about with their separate books. Earlier that day, when the trio had arrived home from Hogwarts, they quickly filled Lily and James in on all that had happened that day. Everyone seemed more than happy that Hermione was now a part of the Order of the Phoenix, and that, she was glad of.

Sirius had left to see Marlene, James and Lily had gone back to their own flat, and now just Remus and Hermione remained. They enjoyed each other's company, however. Hermione especially loved the intellectual conversations she could have with Remus when nobody else was around. He was probably her favorite of the Marauders.

"How long do you figure it will take until I have my full memories back?" Hermione asked, looking up to Remus.

He brought his brown eyes away from the book and looked at her, "Well, it could be awhile, I guess… though I can't really say. I'm no expert," He sighed, "but we'll get there eventually, right?"

Hermione swallowed, "I'm afraid that I won't," her eyes were tired and wide, "and I feel like something is coming… something that I need to remember. If I get my memory back, there's so much I could do to help the Order, but I'm afraid that it just won't happen."

Remus placed his book on the coffee table and moved towards Hermione, pulling her towards him in a hug. She let her head rest in the crook of his neck as he rubbed her back.

"You _will_ remember," he whispered, "I know it."

Hermione smiled as they pulled away from each other. "Thank you," she yawned, "… and I need to get to bed now."

Remus smiled in that sweet manner that had become so familiar to her. It was what she called his gentle smile.

Several moments later, Hermione settled into her bed in the little room that had come to be hers over the past few weeks. She felt calm and happy, mostly because of Remus, but as she closed her eyes, a few faces flashed before her lids: Voldemort, that evil woman, and the man with the strange tattoo.

Why had their faces come to her mind when she entered Hogwarts? Shouldn't it have rather been the memories of classmates or teachers? Not those people, whoever they were.

Hermione fell into a restless sleep accompanied by the strange faces and all of her foggy memories that seemed to be just out of reach.

* * *

**AN**: In case my descriptive skills aren't as great as I think: the store Hermione was staring at in Diagon was intended to be the future location of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

The next chapter includes Hermione getting a job… And things might just heat up between our two little bookworms.


	5. Battle Scars

**Chapter Five**: Battle Scars

_Time is a very healing place, one in which you can grow._

-Denise Tanner

* * *

Remus and Sirius entered the flat, immersed in a conversation about Sirius' ongoing Auror training. Sirius had been mid-sentence when he stopped, looking into the kitchen, where Hermione stood, half in tears.

The girl immediately wiped at her eyes, turning away from the two boys without a word. She had previously been inspecting a particularly long scar across the back of her hand, wondering how she had received all of these injuries. That had mostly been the cause of her distress. There were just so many scars that littered her body. It was a commong thing for her to consider these days.

"Hermione," Remus moved past Sirius, towards the kitchen, "are you okay?"

She cringed, realizing that both boys had noticed her tears. "I'm fine," she murmured quietly. Needing to do something with her hands, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water.

"You were crying," Sirius said simply. He was now leaning up against the countertop, watching her.

"It's nothing."

Hermione turned to Remus, who stood beside her. She then looked to Sirius. They both seemed very worried. She supposed that she was lucky to have people who worried about her. They wanted to help her, they were her friends.

Remus reached out for her free hand, picking it up so a slight, pale scar was exposed. "Is that what this is about?" He asked, tracing a finger along the small scar.

Hermione exhaled shakily, and gave the two of them a small nod of affirmation. "There are just so many of them," she inspected her hand, then her arms, which had various scars that the Healers at St Mungo's hadn't managed to cover up. She wondered if they would always be there...

Remus pulled her towards him, and she let him wrap his arms around her frame. Hermione leaned her head against his chest, breathing in his scent shakily. It was surprisingly comforting to be in his embrace, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it now, there were other things on her mind.

"It drives me crazy that I don't know what happened to me," she said, her voice muffled by Remus' shirt, "I feel like I'm so close to remembering, but I just can't... And it's so frustrating. I _need_ to remember."

"Hermione," Sirius began, "maybe it's a good thing that you don't know what happened."

She turned from Remus to look at Sirius, who was still perched up against the counter.

"Judging by the way we found you, some bad stuff happened to you," he sighed, "maybe you shouldn't remember."

Hermione hesitantly nodded, knowing that there was truth to what Sirius had said. She had a dark past, and maybe it was good that it was fogged over. Perhaps if she knew all that had happened, it would be much more difficult to live her life. "But I feel like it's driving me insane," she felt her voice crack, "it's always in the back of my mind. I'm always wondering what happened."

Remus stepped from behind Hermione to her side, "I think we really need to get you that job we talked about. You need a distraction."

Hermione considered him for a moment. She did spend far too much time alone in this house with only her thoughts. It was time she faced her fears and started to actually live her life. A job like the one Remus had proposed could possibly provide her with something to do, something that would distract her. Then maybe she wouldn't have to think about all this so often.

"That sounds good," she smiled quaintly.

"Wonderful," Sirius grinned, pulling Hermione into another broad hug. Remus smiled gently at her as Sirius arms wound around her back.

oOo

Remus stayed true to his word about getting Hermione a job. The next afternoon, he came home from work with a large smile on his face. Hermione was lounging on the couch; a cup of tea on the coffee table beside her and a book in her hand.

Remus strolled forward and plopped down on the couch beside her. "Guess who's working at Flourish and Blotts," he hinted casually.

Hermione looked at him for a moment, before her jaw dropped, "You got me a job?"

He nodded proudly.

"How?" She set her book down, thrilled at the opportunity of working at a bookstore, and even more thrilled that Remus worked there as well.

"I talked to my boss about it," he shrugged, "he's a really understanding guy. Said that there's a position open for a smart young lady if she wants it."

"Don't I need to interview?"

Remus shook his head, "He trusts my judgement, so you better be on your best behavior."

Hermione beamed, and lunged at Remus, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He chuckled happily and wound his arms around her waist in return. She was really starting to like the way he smelled. It was familiar... as if she's known it for a long time, but never really inspected it so closely. It was a strange mix of cinnamon and muggle laundry detergent. She felt so comforted by it.

After a moment, Hermione realized that she'd been hugging him for too long. She blushed, pulling away. "Thanks so much," she beamed.

"No problem," he replied, "you'll love working there."

Of course, Remus was right, she did love her new job. On her first day of work, she had been mildly stressed, but Remus was beside her the whole way. They had gone into the shop together and met Remus' boss, a man named Dylan. He was extraordinarily kind and obviously adored Remus' work ethnic.

Dylan had taken to Hermione well, saying that Remus talked most highly of her. Remus showed Hermione around the shop, which she already subconsciously knew. Hermione was very grateful that Dylan had allowed her and Remus to work the same hours. She knew that she would be much more comfortable around him at all times.

Their first day moved quickly, and Hermione learned the ropes quickly, not once thinking about her other worries. It was a very needed distraction.

On her second day of work, however, things had been a little different.

Hermione stood in between two shelves, sorting a stack of books under her arms. The passageways were narrow, barely allowing more than one person to pass through at a time.

"Excuse me."

Remus' voice brought Hermione's eyes away from the shelf. She turned to see him standing beside her, trying to get through. "Oh, sorry," she murmured, moving back so he could pass.

The passing space was tiny, and Remus brushed against her as he moved along. He was halfway through sidling past her when she met his eyes for a moment, and he stopped.

He was very close to her, that was the first thing that registered in her mind. He was so close that she could smell him. His breath ghosted towards her. His eyes had darkened slightly and after a moment she realized that he was no longer looking into her eyes, but instead watching her lips.

Hermione felt her breath quicken, and realized what was going to happen: he was going to kiss her. He was leaning in, just a tiny bit, and she found herself leaning in as well.

Suddenly, the front bell rang, signifying that someone had entered the shop. Remus was quick to back away from her, a strange look in his eyes.

Once he left to help the customer, Hermione let out a large breath.

_God_, he'd been about to kiss her. She didn't know what to think. _Was this good_? Well, she couldn't deny to herself that she had wanted him to go through with it.

...but _kissing_... It just made things complicated...

The young witch went back to sorting her books, deciding to investigate the idea further as the day progressed.

About an hour later, Hermione found herself eyeing Remus from across the shop. She stood on the second floor balcony, looking over it to where Remus was. He was inspecting a book intensely. She couldn't quite see the title, but watched him flipping through various pages. He didn't look up from it once, so she was safe to watch him without worrying that she'd be caught ogling.

She inspected the way his sandy hair fell over his forehead, the way his hands moved proficiently to flip through the pages, and the way his brow occasionally furrowed with curiosity.

Hermione realized, in that strange moment, that she had a crush on Remus Lupin. _A crush_. It seemed outrageous, but made so much sense. He had been nothing but kind and comforting to her since she'd woken up in the hospital, they were so similar in tastes and personalities, and he had a sort of frayed handsomeness. As she watched him for several long moments, she became more and more sure of this crush.

Maybe it had taken until he had almost kissed her for her to realize that the crush existed, but it was definitely there. She had feelings for him, and found herself imagining what it would be like to feel his lips on hers...

Remus set the book back on the shelf, moving through the shop to the back room. Hermione squinted at the book he had been holding. Curiosity got ahold of her, and she found herself wandering down to where he had just been standing.

She withdrew the book, inspecting the dark blue cover.

_A History of Lycanthropy_

Hermione gasped loudly. Something clicked deep within her mind, and a flood of memory came back to her.

_Lupin keeled over, the moonlight glistening over his shaking body. His eyes grew wide with terror as a scream was drawn from his throat. His jacket seemed to split at the seams while the sounds of bones cracking filled the air. His hands changed to paws, his body looked deformed and sickly for a moment, before taking the definite shape of a wolf. He howled out in pain, fur emerging along his spine, covering his skin and taking the place of his sandy hair. The moonlight had completely exposed the werewolf as the transformation finished._

Hermione shoved the book onto the shelf, bolting back upstairs. Her breathing was heavy as she leaned against a shelf. Remus was somewhere in the back room downstairs, and luckily there were no customers for him to attend to at the moment. The rush of Hogwarts students hadn't quite started yet... so she was alone.

Hermione shook her head, trying to get the horrific memory out. The book had sent some sort of trigger off in her mind. Remus had just been reading a book about werewolves... And that memory had come to her.

She didn't understand exactly what that memory was, but after some contemplation, she was sure of a few things:

First, Remus was a werewolf.

Second, she had witnessed him transform before.

Third, she had known him in the future.

She didn't quite know what this meant, but she did know that she had to talk to someone about it.

oOo

Later that evening, Hermione was informed of James' plans to have all the boys go out to some muggle bar. Peter was going to be there, and Hermione was more than happy that she got the opportunity to have a night in with Lily. To be honest, she could live her whole life without ever feeling the need to see Peter again.

After Remus and Sirius left the flat, Lily quickly made her way over to Hermione, who had been waiting for something to do.

They decided to make spaghetti for dinner, as it was Lily's favorite food. Both the girls were raised in a muggle environment, and they were both very happy to prepare dinner the muggle way.

"It's good that Peter got over whatever happened and started hanging out with the boys again," Lily mumbled, setting the stove to boil a pot of water.

Hermione bit her lip, "yeah."

"It's okay if you still feel weird about him," the girl turned away from the stove, looking at Hermione, "you don't have to spend time with him if you don't want to."

"I know," the brunette nodded, "but I do feel bad about it."

"Don't," Lily said sternly, "pass me the vegetable oil, will you?"

Hermione did so, before remembering something else that she had planned to talk to Lily about. She still vividly remembered all that had happened at work that day. The images of Remus as a wolf flashed before her eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" Lily asked, noticing Hermione's hazy expression.

"Remus almost kissed me," Hermione blurted.

Lily dropped a spoon onto the countertop, "what?" She gaped.

The young witch played with the hem of her t-shirt, "at work today... He was standing really close to me... Like he was about to kiss me...and then we were interrupted..."

"Well," Lily furrowed her brow, "do you like him?"

Hermione nodded immediately, remembering his kind smile.

Lily's face split into a wide grin, which completely surprised Hermione. "That's wonderful!"

Hermione nodded tentatively, "Yeah."

"You need to go for it, Granger. Sirius and I have been plotting your relationship with Remus for far too long." Lily returned to the pot on the stove.

"_Plotting our relationship_?" Hermione crossed her arms.

"You know what I mean," Lily waved her hand in the air vaguely, "we've noticed all the chemistry between you two."

Hermione chuckled, "alright then..."

"So is that all?" Lily looked to her friend, "you seemed kind of worried about something else earlier."

Hermione chewed her lip, debating whether or not to tell Lily.

She guessed that Lily and the others already knew about his Lycanthropy, but did they want her to know? It wasn't like she was going to run away from him in terror. Even if she had remembered a very frightening part of his transformation, she assumed that he was safe about his transformations. Maybe Lily would help her clear a few things up...

"I remembered something," Hermione said, causing another surprised expression from Lily.

"What?" The girl asked, eyes wide.

Hermione told her friend all about that day, how she had seen the book he was holding, remembering his transformation, and realizing that he was a werewolf.

"Oh God..." Lily muttered, absorbing Hermione's tale.

"I know," Hermione sighed, reaching to turn off the stove and get some plates.

Lily didn't speak for a long moment, just watching Hermione."You don't seem afraid," she finally said.

Hermione shrugged, "It doesn't scare me. I don't think he's some sort of terrible monster, and as far as I'm concerned, he won't hurt me as long as he takes his potion. There's no reason why I should be afraid of him. He's still the same person."

Lily grinned, "well, that's a much better reaction than what Remus has learned to expect from people. I'm so glad you can accept it."

The brunette chuckled, "well, I don't really think I'm in any position to not accept it, after all you guys have done for me, especially Remus. He's been so kind."

"Oh, we're glad to have you with us," Lily said happily, "now come on, lets eat."

The girls sat down at the small kitchen island, discussing Hermione's memory and what it could possibly indicate. In the end, they decided that Hermione should tell Remus of her new knowledge, but leave out the strange memory and her theory on possibly knowing him in the future. Those facts would probably just frighten Remus, and have him paranoid about transforming in front of people.

Lily also explained the fact that Sirius, James, and Peter were all unregistered Animagi. As the girl described it, Hermione felt a strange recognition of each animal. The fact that Peter was a rat had her a little curious, but she shook it off. She was glad to know this kind of information, understanding that it showed how she was being accepted into their group of friends. That was all she really wanted, to be accepted by them. They were the only people she had in her new, strange life.

After another hour or so, the two were interrupted by the door opening and Sirius entering the flat. Behind him, trailed Remus and James. It took Hermione a moment, but she realized that they were fairly inebriated, with the exception of Remus, who seemed to be a bit more responsible about his alcohol.

"Lily!" James practically shouted his greeting, pulling her away from Hermione and out of the flat. He obviously wanted to get her alone quickly. Before they left, Lily pointed to Remus and gave Hermione a knowing wink.

Sirius was stumbling towards the kitchen, deciding that he wouldn't hesitate to dig into the leftover dinner that Hermione and Lily had prepared.

"Sirius," Remus sighed quaintly, "you really need to moderate your alcohol consumption."

"I agree," Hermione smirked, finding that her eyes were straying to the sandy haired werewolf beside her. "Remus is much more responsible than you, I think," she teased.

"Oh, bugger off, you two," Sirius slurred.

Hermione turned to Remus after a moment, who was slightly flushed, probably remembering how they had almost kissed. Hermione wondered if the thought it was a mistake... Did he regret it? Would he try to talk to her about it? She didn't really want him to, fearing rejection.

Anyways, Hermione had something to talk to Remus about. She needed to tell him that she knew...

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She mumbled, hoping Sirius wouldn't interfere.

Remus seemed worried for a moment, and she wondered if he feared rejection as well. It didn't matter anyways, she didn't plan on talking about the almost-kiss.

"Yeah," he nodded, "let's go to my room."

Hermione followed Remus away from the kitchen, into his bedroom.

"Use protection... And silencing charms!" Sirius called after them, dissolving into a fit of barking laughter at his own joke while Remus closed the door to his room.

Hermione had been in here a couple times before, and she recognized Remus' sense of style in the comfy bedroom. He was currently looking at her anxiously, and Hermione felt an urge to just get this over with. It didn't go over her head that she was alone in Remus' bedroom.

"I know that you're a werewolf."

Hermione found that the words had left her mouth before she could even think to soften the blow.

Remus' eyes grew wide. He sputtered for a long moment, finally managing to whisper and astonished, "what?"

Hermione once again began playing with the hem of her shirt, "at work today, you were looking at a book about werewolves," she smiled weakly, "I put the pieces together."

He searched her face for a long time, looking more vulnerable than she'd ever seen him. Neither spoke for a long time, Hermione simply waited for him to say something, and he tried to figure out what to say. Eventually he ran a hand through his hair and spoke, "You're not scared? Disgusted? Outraged?" He asked.

"No," she said simply, "I'm fine with it, and I'm sure it won't bother me at all in the future. I know you'll be safe about it."

"Really? Do you know what it's like around the full moon?" His eyes were fearful. She imagined him so afraid of hurting his friends and losing control. It made her heart ache.

"It'll be fine around the full moon. You're not going to scare me off, Remus, I promise. I've read books about werewolves, and I understand how it works. There's nothing to really be afraid of when you've got all the facts."

Remus searched her eyes for a minute, then let out a sigh of relief, all signs of tension leaving his body. Hermione smiled warmly.

"I'm so glad you're okay with it," he murmured, flashing her a relieved smile in return.

"I'm glad that I know."

The two looked at each other in silence for many seconds. Finally, Hermione realized that she couldn't stay in his room forever, no matter how much she wanted to.

"I should go," she mumbled.

"Oh, yeah," Remus flushed, opening the door for her.

"Goodnight," Hermione called over her shoulder, looking back at him and the comfy looking bed behind him. She found herself imagining what it would be like if she just got in that bed and fell asleep beside him.

"Night," Remus replied, still looking rather surprised by the witch before him.

Hermione passed Sirius, who had fallen asleep and was now snoring obnoxiously on the couch. She made her way into her own room quietly, where a lonely bed was waiting for her.

oOo

**AN**: Sorry for the delay. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. I realize that it was a lot of feelings and not too much action, but don't worry, we'll get into some action soon... Next chapter includes Hermione's first Order meeting!

Also, if you like Sirius/Hermione stuff, you can check out my new story called _Good Things_.

Thanks!


	6. One of the Boys

**Chapter Six:** One of the Boys

_Bring the past only if you are going to build from it._

-Doménico Cieri Estrada

* * *

The Order meeting was set to take place the upcoming Saturday, and arrived very quickly. Before Hermione knew it, it was the night of, and she was shrugging her jacket on. She had done and redone her hair several times, and it was only in a single french braid.

Her anxiety must have been showing, because Sirius came up beside her, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. She smiled at him, then turned as Remus came out of his bedroom. "Ready to go?"

Hermione nodded, not quite meeting Remus' eyes. Things had been... a bit awkward ever since the almost-kiss at Flourish and Blotts. It wasn't like they were avoiding each other, but there always seemed to be a little bit of tension beneath the surface when they were together. Then again, it had only been about three days. Hermione supposed that it would take a little while to blow over.

"We'll meet James and Lily there," Sirius said, leading the group out the door.

They apparated from an alleyway, apparently Headquarters for the Order was on the other side of London, a property owned by Professor Dumbledore. Hermione briefly wondered if she might recognize it once they arrived, but the idea was cast away immediately.

It was what appeared to be a trainyard. Hermione looked around, seeing train tracks running along the ground, and a few empty cars lined up by what seemed to be a warehouse.

"There are barely even any trains that come through," Sirius said, nodding towards the barren clearing. Hermione noted the evidence of graffiti littering empty cars. For a moment, she thought headquarters was going to be the large warehouse, but then Remus led them in another direction.

Apparently, they had arrived at the apparition point, which, for security, was set about two hundred meters from the actual location of headquarters. They approached a group of run down apartment buildings on the outskirts of the trainyard. It didn't look like people lived there, and there were only about five or six units, on the edge of a small river that obviously divided the buildings from the rest of society.

Hermione supposed that it was a very good place for headquarters to be. Muggles would rarely come here, but Dumbledore had surely implemented a few muggle-repelling wards anyways.

"Here we are," Sirius said, approaching the unit on the end. He opened the front door without hesitation, and Hermione saw his dark form disappear inside.

"You'll be fine," Remus said quietly.

Hermione hadn't realized that she had grabbed his forearm nervously. She nodded and followed him inside.

Stepping through the doorway, there was a definite whisper of magic that was obviously very powerful wards. Once over the threshold, Hermione immediately heard voices coming from within. Remus led her further inside, and she found that they were in a neat little sitting room. The house had been magically expanded, that was evident once they passed the sitting room, into another, much larger chamber.

There was a round table in the center, and at least a dozen seats surrounding it. Tons of people were sitting around the table, and even more standing on the edges of the cavernous room. Hermione didn't really focus on the setting, but more just the people within.

So this was the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore stood authoritatively at the head of the table, to his left were several unfamiliar faces, but to his right...

_McGonagall_. The name rang in Hermione's head as she saw the older woman. She stood beside Dumbledore, talking to the man quietly. Once Hermione entered, McGonagall's eyes shot up to the girl. Hermione's recognition made her smile warmly, and she wondered if she would recognize anyone else.

Down at the other end of the table, James, Lily, Marlene, and a few other people around their age were sitting casually. Peter was there as well, but he didn't seem to notice her, and she pushed his presence out of her mind. After another moment, Hermione caught Lily's eye and the redhead smiled brightly. Sirius was already moving to sit down beside Marlene, and Hermione made to follow Remus in that direction as well.

"Miss Granger."

Dumbledore's voice halted Hermione. Remus stopped as well, looking back at her with an expectant smile. Hermione approached the man. "Yes, Professor?"

"I would like to introduce you, if you don't mind?" He said kindly. McGonagall was watching Hermione from over Dumbledore's shoulder.

Hermione sighed, knowing that she should have suspected some sort of introduction. Remus stood behind her a few feet, and she looked back to see him still smiling. "Okay," she said, turning back to the Headmaster.

After a few moments, the crowd of people calmed down enough so that Dumbledore could speak. All attention was focused on him, with the exception of a few curious eyes straying to the bushy haired girl at his side. Hermione tugged at the sleeve of her jumper, searching the expressions of her friends. They were all reassuring, and it gave her so much more confidence than she thought she could have.

"If I may," Dumbledore began, "I would like to introduce our newest addition to the Order, Miss Hermione Granger."

Hermione blushed slightly, looking over the crowd of eyes on her.

"I hope we can all welcome her into the fight for our cause," The old man finished, patting her once on the shoulder.

After a moment, Hermione moved to sit down, hearing a quick "welcome to the Order," from McGonagall. She smiled, and found that Remus had saved her a seat between himself and a strangely familiar man.

She was glad that he didn't say much more about her. Since they obviously didn't want everyone to know that she was a time traveler and had lost her memories along the way, it would just get a bit fuzzy trying to explain her situation to everyone. She knew Sirius had basically told Marlene everything already, but she wondered who else they would have to tell. Judging by the way Remus was chatting away with the man next to Hermione, he would be hearing something about her past as well.

"Hermione, this is Frank Longbottom," Remus introduced her, noticing her appraisal of the man.

Hermione furrowed her brow, taking his offered hand and shaking it. Next to him was a woman, who Remus proceeded to introduce as Alice, Frank's fiancee.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Alice said kindly, and Hermione felt vaguely like she recognized that smile.

"Now, I believe it is time to proceed with the meeting," Dumbledore said, calling everyone out of their private conversations.

Hermione quite liked the atmosphere of the meeting. It wasn't as tense as she had initially expected. The whole room wasn't staring at her, and she didn't feel like she stuck out like a sore thumb. Then again, maybe that was because she did belong here... this was where she fit in, fighting the war with the Marauders.

Dumbledore began discussing how Death Eaters seem to have gained the support of many former Hogwarts students. Sirius was happy to point out that all of which were Slytherins. He would be the one to know, because apparently his cousins as well as his own brother were supporters of Voldemort. Hermione found that rather eerie, but didn't dwell.

Most of the meeting was just reports; suspected Death Eater locations, Voldemort's supporters in the Ministry, the possibility of infiltration of the Order. Hermione listened intently, trying to remember something, anything. It was the same as always, of course. Her mind was foggy and distant. She felt like she knew everything about this war, but at the same time, she was clueless. It was rather frustrating.

The meeting ended after an hour or so, and the group of former Hogwarts students made plans to go get some dinner. Hermione was tired, but happy to be so accepted into the group of friends, even if Peter was there.

They set out for a pub in London. Unfortunately, Alice and Frank had other plans, and left the group after the meeting ended. As Hermione watched the couple exit, Remus seemed to notice the looks she was giving them.

"What is it?" He asked, shrugging on his jacket. Most of the other Order members were clogging the doorways of the small house, trying to exit.

"I think I know Alice and Frank in the future," she muttered, "Or maybe a relative of theirs..."

Remus seemed intrigued, and opened his mouth to say something, before Sirius interrupted.

"Oi! Come on, you two lovebirds," He waved them over, one arm draped across Marlene's shoulder, "We haven't got all night!"

Remus chuckled and lead Hermione towards the rest of their group. There were seven of them: Hermione, Remus, Sirius, James, Lily, Peter, and Marlene. The pub was nice and homely, making for a nice end to the evening, even if every time Hermione saw Peter across the table she cringed.

The interesting part, however, didn't come until the end of the evening. James was a bit tipsy, and seemed to enjoy dancing to some scottish tune playing on the wireless. As he galloped past Hermione, his sloppy movements caused for a clumsy slip. He came sliding into Hermione from the side, knocking her towards the ground.

"Harry!" She shrieked, not even registering the name she had called out.

"Sorry, Hermione," he began to explain, offering her a hand to stand up. Then he froze. "Wait... what did you just call me?" He sobered up at that point, looking at Hermione with only a slightly glazed over expression.

Hermione stared at him, confused, for a long moment, before she realized what she had said.

_Harry_.

His name wasn't Harry. She had absolutely no clue how she got that name in her head. She didn't even _know_ a Harry.

...at least as far as she could remember...

"James, I mean," The witch corrected herself, noticing that Remus, Peter, and Lily were watching her curiously. Sirius and Marlene were off getting more chips and had not witnessed the suspicious encounter.

James shrugged, and went back to his dancing. Hermione exhaled loudly, sitting down next to Remus and Lily.

"Don't ask," she mumbled, "I have no clue what that was about."

They accepted her excuse and went back into a discussion about how long it would take before Sirius and Marlene finally moved in together.

Hermione just sat there for most of the night, wondering who the hell _Harry_ was.

oOo

The following week flew by without a hitch, at least until the full moon came around. The morning before the full moon found Hermione in the kitchen, cooking eggs while Remus sat at the counter, looking dreadful.

His head was buried in his hands and his hair was messy to an extent that almost rivaled James. Hermione felt terrible seeing him like this, and it was her first real experience with it, since the last time the full moon had come, she had been in the hospital and unaware of Remus' lycanthropy. Now she just scooped her scrambled eggs on a plate, and slid them over to Remus. "You should eat something," she murmured gently.

He grimaced at the food, but nodded. They both knew that he needed to get some food in him before he took his Wolfsbane. The pair sat down and began to eat. After a minute, Hermione looked up to him curiously, "So what's the plan for tonight? I'm assuming I should get out of the flat."

Remus swallowed, "I hate kicking you out of here, but I think Lily wants you to stay with her and Marlene for tonight. James and Sirius will probably be here with me, since... you know, Padfoot and Prongs."

"Of course," she smiled, happy that Sirius and James were so devoted to their friend, "I'll be fine."

"Good," he said, his voice slightly strained as he shifted in his seat. Hermione had never realized how much the transformation could affect him before it even happened. He always seemed to hide it so well. She hated seeing him like this, and wished she could do something to help.

Suddenly, Sirius entered the flat, holding a vial of what looked like Wolfsbane in his hand. He strolled over to the kitchen, smirking at the couple seated within. "Your pumpkin juice, Moony."

"Thanks," Remus grumbled, uncorking the vial and gulping down the Wolfsbane with a grimace. Sirius immediately moved over to the leftovers of Hermione's cooking, clearing all of it onto his own plate and sitting down beside the witch.

"It really tastes that bad, huh?" Hermione asked, eyeing Remus' frown.

"Yeah," the werewolf said gruffly, "It's terrible."

"Who makes it?" She looked over to Sirius, wondering why he had delivered it. Surely he couldn't brew such a complicated potion, right?

As if reading her thoughts, Sirius shook his head, "Professor Slughorn makes it, over at Hogwarts," he explained, "I usually just pick it up."

Hermione wondered if she could make it for Remus. She had a vague idea in her mind that during her schooling, she had been fairly adept at Potions. Maybe she would find a book about it at work today... she wanted to help Remus in any way she could.

The day passed quickly, Hermione spending most of her time at work worrying about Remus and the upcoming transformation. By the end of the day, Hermione found herself making her way over to Lily and James' flat. As she entered, she found Lily and Marlene talking animatedly about something. They both looked beyond excited.

"Hermione!" Lily beamed, jumping to hug her bushy haired friend.

"Hi guys," Hermione smiled, "What's got you so excited?"

The read head pulled back, her voice now quiet, "I found a ring in James' dresser."

Hermione's eyes grew wide, she looked from Lily, to Marlene, then back to Lily. "Like an engagement ring?"

Lily nodded vigorously.

"That's wonderful!" Hermione hugged her friend again. She had always felt that it was going to happen eventually, and she had more than once caught Remus and Sirius arguing over which of them would be best man at the wedding.

"We think he's going to propose within the next few days," Marlene predicted.

"Wow," Hermione murmured, noticing how Lily was positively glowing.

"Now we just need to get Sirius to move in with Marlene, and you to kiss Remus," Lily teased, and the girls moved over to the couch.

Hermione blushed, "It's been kind of awkward lately."

"We can all tell that Remus wants you," Marlene mumbled, "he's always looking at you like you're the most brilliant thing in the world."

Hermione blushed. "What about you and Sirius?" She inquired, trying to get the subject off of her.

Marlene shrugged, "I planned on taking it slow when we got out of Hogwarts, but now I just want to be with him all the time."

Lily giggled, mumbling something about having "crazy monkey sex" as well.

The girls talked for awhile, and it was mostly just Lily gushing over the ring she had found and how gorgeous it was. Hermione found herself beginning to wonder what it would be like getting proposed to.

Eventually the three of them fell asleep around the couch and on the floor of the small flat. Hermione didn't sleep very well. She kept waking up multiple times, wondering if Remus was okay, imagining that he was in pain.

The morning was slow and a long time coming. James had said that it would be safe for them to come back to the other flat thirty minutes after sunrise. Hermione was up and ready to go first, anxious to make sure everyone was okay.

She walked over to her flat, opening the door cautiously. Within, she found James asleep on the couch, and Sirius wandering around the kitchen shirtless. When she entered, Sirius' head perked up, "Is Marlene coming?" He asked.

"Right here," Marlene's voice came from behind Hermione. The young witch watched as Marlene basically tackled Sirius and began snogging him passionately.

Sirius mumbled something to Hermione about Remus and shooed her off to the offending werewolf's room.

She approached his door, knowing that someone had to help heal any cuts or bruises he had. She hoped he wasn't too badly injured, and more importantly, that he let her help him. Hermione took a deep breath, and knocked.

oOo

**AN**: Bit of a cliff hanger, huh? I hope you enjoyed it. The romance is going to pick up now, especially in the next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter, I'm going out of town for a week or so, and it might be awhile until the I update. Just bear with me, I'll post as soon as possible.

Also, review? I want to know how many people are really reading this, so I'd appreciate any sort of comment or question I get.


	7. The Beast Within

**Chapter Seven: The Beast Within**

_Kiss me and you will see how important I am._

-Sylvia Plath

* * *

"Hermione," Remus gave her a weak smile upon her entrance to his bedroom. It was the same as she remembered it from the other night; the welcoming scent still inviting her within.

"Hi," Hermione breathed anxiously, taking in the sight before her. Remus was laid out on his bed, a light grey sheet covering most of his body. She could still see a few inches of his exposed chest that was littered with faint scars. He looked exhausted, with heavy bags under his eyes and a few particularly bad cuts. In an awkward realization, Hermione noticed that he was naked under the sheet.

"Sorry you have to see me like this," he murmured, voice still hoarse. There was the light splash of a blush on his sallow looking face.

"Uh... I'm going to go get you some potions," She said.

Remus chuckled, obviously sensing her discomfort. "I'll put some clothes on."

Hermione blushed, moving out the door and to the nearest bathroom, where she knew they kept a stash of potions for Remus. She collected several seemingly useful vials. There was some Murtlap Essence for the cuts, bruising paste, muscle relaxant because he would obviously be sore, Strength Potion, and some Sleeping Drought.

"Here we are," she said, entering Remus' room with her arms full of the various products. He was now standing up, leaning against the dresser, wearing a pair of loose flannel pants. His arm was latched onto the surface beside him, supporting most of his weight. Hermione inspected him for a second: his chest was littered with scars. The only seemingly fresh wound was located on his back, a narrow gash stretching along his spine.

Remus seemed to be trying to maneuver himself over to the bed. His body was tense as he braced himself against the dresser. Hermione suddenly felt a striking blow of anger within her. He didn't deserve this... this was his life... every month he had to go through this terrible transformation, leaving him sickly and weak. Nobody deserved this.

"Let me help," she said, placing the supplies on his bed and moving over to his side.

"You don't have to-" he began, only to be cut off by the young woman beside him.

"I want to help you, Remus," She said stubbornly, bringing his arm around her shoulder so he could put some of his weight on her. Slowly, they moved back to Remus' bed. He gripped Hermione's shoulder tightly, and it was almost painful, but she ignored it. He was surely in more pain than she was at the moment.

Once he was safely seated on the edge of the bed, he spoke again, motioning to the various healing products beside him, "I can take care of this."

Hermione looked to the supplies, and then back to his wincing face, shaking her head sternly. He was far too exhausted and sore to do this properly on his own. "Quit complaining," She said, smiling slightly, "you're going to feel a lot better after I've helped you."

He mumbled a grumpy response and Hermione set to work. She handed him the strength potion first. He took it and gulped it down. From her experience, it would take about thirty minutes to set in. He would probably remain fairly exhausted until then.

"Now for your back..." Hermione mumbled, shifting forward so she kneeled behind him on the bed. She held the bottle of Murtlap Essence in her hand, appraising the cut.

Remus seemed like he wanted to protest, but he remained quiet, just sitting there and breathing deeply.

Hermione's hand found the torn skin, and the cooling solution caused a small sigh to escape from Remus. She gently rubbed her hand up and down the jagged cut, hoping not to hurt him too much.

While healing his back, Hermione began to think more about his condition. She felt terrible that he had to go through this so often. It really was something that she wouldn't wish on anyone, especially not Remus. He was so tremendously kind and caring. If it wasn't for his cuts and monthly sicknesses, she didn't think anyone could have guessed about the beast within.

How had he been bitten? How old was he? How long had he gone without understanding his condition? The questions floated around her mind. She wanted to ask him about it, but felt that now might not be the best time. He was already tired and embarrassed, and she didn't want to try and get the information out of him before he was ready.

When she was finished with his back, Remus let out the breath he was holding in. The gash already looked significantly better, though, and she was happy for that.

"Better?" Hermione asked, shifting around so she could face him.

When their eyes met his expression was significantly darker. Hermione was taken back by the intensity of his gaze. He no longer seemed embarrassed, but now was gazing at her with a strange mix of emotions that she couldn't identify.

He didn't say anything. They just sat there for a long moment. Hermione's heart was racing, wondering what he was going to do.

Ever so slowly, he picked an arm up from his side, bringing his hand so that it rested at the side of her face. After a second, his hand shifted, and he pulled her towards him. She gasped at his forwardness, but didn't pull away. Her mind was too caught up in the way his eyes met her own, in a clash of brown and amber hues.

Within another second, his lips were on hers. He kissed her roughly, in a way that seemed so different from his usual gentle demeanour. His hand moved to her neck, then tangled in her curly hair. Hermione's mind raced, but no coherent thought was forming. All she could do was revel in the way he felt against her.

Suddenly, a memory sparked to life in her scattered mind. She remembered a face... a boy's face. He had curled orange hair and a freckled complexion. She had kissed him. The memory of that flashed through her mind. It was an awkward kiss, slow and clumsy, but filled with emotion and intimacy.

She gasped again, pulling away from Remus and bolting upright. Remus looked alarmed, and the darkness seceded from his expression, only to be replaced by an embarrassed shock.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione, I didn't mean to.." He apologized rapidly, fumbling over his words.

Hermione took a few deep breaths, thinking this over. She had remembered kissing someone... that boy... who looked so familiar. It was an innocuous memory, probably only having been brought forth because it was the first time she had kissed someone since losing her memory.

It always seemed that she remembered things at the worst times...

"Remus," she began, rubbing her temples in an attempt to concentrate, "It's not- I didn't... I remembered something." Remus was staring at her with a bewildered expression. "I remembered, uh, kissing someone," she mumbled, looking at him with an embarrassed expression.

"Oh," he breathed, rubbing his neck anxiously, "Like, a boyfriend or something?" For a moment, she thought she saw a flash of jealousy flit across his face.

It could have been a boyfriend, though as far as Hermione could remember, there wasn't any more romantic attachment than just that little kiss. "I don't know..." She mumbled.

Neither spoke for a long time. Hermione just tried to think of something to say to make him feel better. She could sense the awkward tension rising by the second.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "around the full moon, I get sort of..." he tilted his head, looking for a word.

"It's fine," Hermione replied, watching him for a long moment. He looked exhausted, and fairly guilty. "You should get some rest. I've got to go to work."

"Ok," He sighed, appearing reluctant as she backed out of the room.

Hermione closed the door behind herself, letting out a deep breath once she was safely on the other side.

The others had all congregated around the kitchen island, drinking coffee and giving Hermione suggestive glances. She quickly made an excuse to get out of there, before they could go on with their inane comments about what happened "behind closed doors" as Sirius so eloquently put it.

oOo

Work was rather grueling that day, and Hermione found herself anxious to get home. She needed to see Remus. They needed to talk about what had happened, that was something she realized more and more as the day dragged on.

He was obviously feeling terrible about kissing her. She knew from Lily's stories that his whole childhood had been one of self-loathing and pretend control. If the vague information in her mind was correct, she remembered reading up on werewolves. They tended to get particularly hormonal around the full moons. He couldn't possibly blame himself for what had happened.

Hermione _had_ enjoyed it after all. It was really quite spectacular, and seemed much better than the foggy memory of kissing that ginger boy. Several times during her shift, she had to stop, just to remember the way his lips had crashed upon hers, the way his hand had tangled in her mane of hair.

Hermione Granger had a crush on Remus Lupin. She had admitted that to herself days ago. The only problem was that Remus didn't know. She had to tell him. He was surely berating himself for his impulsivity. He probably thought she hated it, or that he had somehow taken advantage of her; when it was really quite the opposite.

oOo

The bushy haired witch climbed up the last step, turning the corner down to their hallway. Just before she made it to the door of her flat, however, Lily came bursting out of her door down the hall with a bellowing, "Hermione!"

The girl in question froze, questioning her redheaded friend with an alarmed glance.

"James proposed!" Lily squealed, showing her left hand to Hermione, where sure enough, a beautiful ring shone on one of her delicate fingers.

"That's wonderful!" Hermione beamed, hugging Lily tightly. It had barely been twelve hours since she had been informed of the ring's existence, and it was already on the finger of an ecstatic Lily Evans.

"We went out to lunch," Lily explained, tears pricking her eyes, "I just thought it was any old day, and then suddenly he got down on one knee!"

Hermione laughed, happy to see Lily so excited. She didn't pay it much attention, but there was a strange part of her mind that felt a despondent sense of sorrow from this information.

Lily went over her story of the engagement several times in high detail before realizing that Hermione was anxious to see Remus. She apologized and hugged Hermione goodbye cheerfully, heading back to her doorway down the hall.

Hermione found that a smile was still on her face as she entered the flat. Lily's happiness was rather contagious.

Her smile immediately left her face upon entrance to the flat. Sirius and Marlene were both sprawled out on the couch, invested it a very heated snogging session.

Hermione yelped, shielding her eyes in case of any indecency. After a moment, she heard Sirius' barking laughter mingling with an embarrassed giggle from Marlene.

"Are you decent?" she asked, still looking away.

"Yeah," Sirius said nonchalantly, and Hermione opened her eyes to see him approach only to ruffle her hair affectionately.

She sighed. Sometimes Sirius was just... strange...

"Sorry about that," Marlene mumbled, at least having the tact to blush.

"It's fine," Hermione grinned, her mind now moving on to other things, "Did you hear that James proposed?"

Sirius' eyes grew wide, and his jaw practically dropped. It took him a long moment to speak, "Prongs actually went through with it?"

She nodded at his astonished expression.

"Bloody hell," Sirius mused, running a hand through his wild hair. After a second or two, he set off running to the doorway, shouting, "LILS... EVANS..." as he went.

Hermione gave Marlene a knowing smile as she followed after Sirius, leaving Hermione alone in the flat.

"It's now or never," the young witch mumbled to herself, knocking on Remus' door for the second time that day.

"Come in," his gruff voice sounded through the thin wood.

Hermione tentatively inched inside, smiling gently at the lasting memory of Lily's happiness. Remus was still in bed, sitting up against the headboard with a book in hand. His hair was messy from sleep, and his eyes looked tired. She guessed that he had just woken up. His expression lightened for a moment upon seeing her, but then fell into one of guilt.

"James and Lily are engaged," She said, a small smile quirking up her lips.

He tilted his head for a second, before smiling calmly, "I figured it would happen eventually." Now that his voice wasn't muffled by the door, Hermione could hear the hoarseness of it, obviously due to his transformation. She felt a strickening ache in her chest when she realized that he must have been screaming last night...

She took a deep breath before stepping forward, moving so that she could sit on the end of his bed. It strangely reminded her of her time in the hospital, when Remus would sit on the end of her bed in St. Mungo's. It felt like ages ago now. She had come so far since those slow, agonizing days in the hospital.

"Look," he scratched the back of his neck, giving Hermione a moment to admire the way his arm flexed, "I want to apologize again for what happened this morning."

"It's okay, Remus," She said, showing her sincerity, "I actually came to talk to you about that..."

His eyes widened a bit, but he urged her on with a nod.

She searched her mind for the words she had rehearsed earlier that day, but she was jumbled and disoriented in the face of Remus. Finally, however, she found her voice. "Please don't feel bad about kissing me. It was... nice," she could feel herself smiling, despite the blush coloring her cheeks. "I've always sort of- well, liked you. I think I've been waiting for you to kiss me for a long time."

Her words were shaky, but Remus seemed to understand what she was saying. "Oh," he whispered, his shock evident.

For one moment, Hermione had a devastating feeling that he was about to reject her. She had to cover this up... she had to keep herself protected...

"I just wanted to tell you," she blurted, "so that you don't feel bad. Because, really, you have enough to worry about and you shouldn't be worrying about me."

Hermione had a feeling that she was babbling, but she didn't know what to say. Remus definitely wasn't talking.

Then there was silence. It was the kind of silence that made you want to run away from all social interaction for the next five to ten hours.

"Hermione," he finally spoke, "I'm- while I'm glad to hear that you... enjoyed it, and I do definitely feel a strong attraction to you, well- I don't think that it should lead to anything."

She watched him warily, her head swimming with thoughts, most of which revolved around the fact that he had admitted an "attraction" to her. A part of her was overjoyed at that admission, while another part was sulking at his last words.

_He didn't want it to lead to anything._

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a werewolf, Hermione," he sighed, "I'm not a good guy to have a crush on."

The way he said the word "crush" made her feel childish and silly. She glanced up to meet his eyes, and she must have looked terribly heartbroken because his expression immediately softened.

"You're amazing, Hermione," he said, "don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you, but trust me, I'm not the person you want to be with." He paused, looking down at the sheets beneath him. It was only then that Hermione noticed that they were still sitting on his bed, across from each other, his feet just barely touching the skin of her bare legs.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling all too foolish. He spoke like he cared about her safety, but his words made it feel like he was just trying to let her down easy. Hermione had to face the facts now: he didn't want to be with her, and coming in here to spill her secret crush had been a mistake.

She stood abruptly, not giving him much time to say anything. She just had to get out of there, because tears were threatening to spill and she didn't want Remus to know how much his words hurt.

"Sorry I kissed you," his words followed her rushed movements as she opened his bedroom door and left. It was only when Hermione was within the safety of her own room that she collapsed on the bed, letting her emotions go.

oOo

**AN**: Please review. I'm in desperate need of motivation, and reviews always seem to get me to update much sooner.


	8. An Evening Out

**Chapter Eight: An Evening Out**

_I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun._

-Jane Austen, _Pride and Prejudice_

* * *

Hermione stared at the facile writing, tracing each curve and plane with an angry glint in her eye. She followed each letter, each word, as they formed the list of things that made up her entire existence. It could all be captured in a tiny piece of paper, taped to the cold surface of their muggle refrigerator.

She groaned, turning away from the damned list and back towards the tea kettle on the stove. That piece of paper on the refrigerator was very controversial to Hermione; sometimes, she loved seeing it and thinking about adding to it, and other times (like right now) it just made her vehemently angry. When would her life be more than just a shabby list only several lines long?

The lack of memories was always something that Hermione thought about. Always in the back of her mind; looming over everything she did. Every day she hoped that she would finally get her memories back, and maybe start to understand the mess that her life had become.

She was trapped in the past, that was one thing she knew for sure. How she got here… well that was unclear. There was also the questions about how she had been so injured upon her arrival. Someone had hurt her, but she didn't know who. On top of all of that, Hermione had to wonder why these strange fragmented memories were coming back to her; there was that red headed boy's face, the strange feeling she got when venturing into Diagon Alley, her vague recognition of Alice and Frank, and then all the frightening memories that had come during her visit to Hogwarts.

Among all those mysteries, Hermione still had the issue of Remus to worry about.

She had been terribly embarrassed when he turned her down, and barely made it out of her room for at least a day. Now, as it stood, it had been three days since the incident - and the full moon - and she had barely spoke to Remus at all. Things were tremendously awkward. Remus seemed to be fighting within himself whether or not to act normally, while Hermione, on the other hand, was just trying to avoid him at all costs.

She liked him. That was the worst part. She still had a crush on him. She still thought about the feeling of his lips when lying in bed at night. She still wondered what it would have been like if he had just forgotten about all his self-pity and went along with it.

_"I do definitely feel a strong attraction to you"_

That was what he had said. He had admitted his feelings. It was solid proof, but Hermione started to doubt the truth behind those words, more and more with each passing day.

Now, things were just uncomfortable between them. She tried to spend time away from Remus, but still had to go to work with him, and spend time with the others as well. In fact, tonight would be one of those times. Apparently, Sirius and Marlene had decided that everyone was to go out tonight and celebrate James and Lily's engagement. Everyone would be there, and that included Peter, Alice, Frank, and Remus. Hermione realized that it was to the point that she would rather Peter be there than Remus.

She had no clue what would happen later that night, but certainly hoped that she could continue avoiding Remus. It was James and Lily's night, and she didn't need to be so concerned about being awkward around Remus.

Suddenly, the kettle let off a high-pitched whistling, causing Hermione to jump slightly and retreat from her gloomy thoughts. Moving to the stove, she quickly finished up preparing her tea, deciding that she had done enough moping for today. It was time to do something productive… like read a book.

She slinked over to the bookshelf, looking for something to push Remus out of her mind.

oOo

That night came quickly, and before Hermione knew it, they were heading for some muggle bar. James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione all left together, walking through the streets of muggle London.

Hermione was hanging back a little, trying not to walk near Remus, who was talking to Lily in the front of their group. She walked beside Sirius and James, tuning into their conversation.

"So anyways, the motorbike is all ready now, and I'm going to pick it up next week," Sirius said proudly, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans as he walked.

James was grinning, "Pads, this is going to be awesome, we can ride it all the time!"

"I still don't understand why you boys are so fascinated by a silly motorbike," Lily mumbled, "It doesn't seem very safe."

"Oh, Evans," Sirius sighed, moving to slink an arm around Lily, "it all really boils down to the fact that it's a _motorbike_, and it's mine."

Hermione realized that this conversation would probably end in an argument between Lily and Sirius. She let her mind wander, looking at the buildings around her. There were lots of people out and about tonight. She would want to lose her friends in this kind of crowd. It was already late at night, and only the streetlamps above illuminated her view.

She cocked her head while they passed an interesting looking storefront. Her friends were only a few feet ahead, and she could catch up if she wanted to.

Hermione found herself inspecting the people around her. Most seemed to be rushing someplace or other, while others seemed to be enjoying a night out with friends. Her eyes followed a couple strolling by, arms linked with one another. Watching that couple pass once again made Hermione think of Remus. It was getting to a point where she was just sick of all these feelings.

The couple kept walking, and Hermione watched as they passed, finding that her eyes now settled on a figure only a short distance behind herself.

There was something strange about this man. It took a moment for Hermione to realize that he was wearing robes, that was why he stood out so much on the Muggle streets. Upon closer inspection, however, Hermione realized that he looked positively menacing. He was built short yet muscular, with broad shoulders and a peculiar tattoo stretching and spiralling down the right side of his face.

Hermione gasped, feeling a strange memory of this man. She knew him… she recognized him… but from where?

Maybe she had seen him in Saint Mungo's, or around Diagon Alley? Or maybe he was someone from her past… someone she had forgotten about?

He acted naturally, but Hermione couldn't help the suspicious feeling that he was following her. He was wearing robes for God's sake. He was definitely a wizard, so what the hell was he doing in Muggle London dressed like that.

Hermione turned swiftly and increased her stride to catch up with the others, ignoring the strange feeling in the back of her mind. Looking at Sirius beside her, she wondered if she should tell them of her concerns.

No, it wouldn't do for them to be worried about this. It was a happy occasion and she was probably worrying over nothing.

They arrived at the bar only a few minutes later, and when Hermione looked around, she couldn't spot the strange man in the crowd. Letting out a relieved breath, she followed her friends inside.

Alice, Frank, Marlene and Peter were waiting, drinks already in hand. Hermione couldn't help but grin as Sirius galloped over to them and attacked Marlene in a fierce hug. Once again, she was reminded of her problem with Remus. She couldn't have a relationship like that… at least not with Remus… because of his silly self-pity.

After a moment or two, everyone in their group was immersed in their congratulations of James and Lily. Sirius had a round of drinks over before Hermione could even accustom herself to the new environment. Chewing her lower lip, she took a drink and watched as Lily and James began relaying the story of the engagement. Despite her slightly uncomfortable surroundings, and the fact that she had been more than a bit shaken by that strange man on the street, Hermione found herself smiling. There was something about James and Lily that just seemed so right. They just worked together. They were perfect for eachother, and it could make anyone in their presence happy.

"Hermione, come with me," Lily said, pulling Hermione by the arm, "I've got to go to the bathroom."

Hermione furrowed her brow, but followed her redheaded friend into a nearby restroom. Once they were inside the dingy little room, Lily stopped.

"Okay," Lily said sternly, turning around and crossing her arms at Hermione, "What's going on with you and Remus?"

Hermione exhaled loudly. She really should have guessed that this was coming sooner or later. Lily would never be so clueless as to not notice the very clear divide that had now formed between Hermione and Remus.

Weighing her options, Hermione thought that it was perhaps best to just tell Lily everything, so she did just that. By the end of her story, Lily was looking particularly irritated.

"He can't just do that!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, "all because of his silly self-deprecation!"

Hermione shrugged, leaning up against the pale wall of the bathroom. "I don't know… maybe he just doesn't want to be with me. Maybe this is a way of letting me down easy."

"No," Lily said sternly, "You're both crazy for eachother, and you can't keep denying it." By this point, the redhead was practically pacing back and forth.

"Well what do you suggest I do, just go up and snog him?" Hermione asked, hoping that her sarcasm was obvious enough that Lily wouldn't encourage the idea.

After a few moments of contemplation, Lily turned back to the young witch across from her, "Tonight, you guys are going to talk," She said, "by the end of the night, I want you to have this sorted out."

Hermione chuckled to herself at Lily's assertiveness, "I don't know how that's going to happen…"

"I've got a few ideas," Lily murmured, pulling Hermione along out of the bathroom. Outside, everyone seemed to be in a discussion of their own opinions of Sirius' motorbike.

About an hour later, Hermione found herself sitting next to Alice, who she found to be a fierce Auror with a very kind disposition. The woman was wonderful to talk to, and Hermione was more than happy to get to know her. She still had the strange remembrance of Alice, and the more time she spent with the woman, the more she thought that she knew Alice in the future.

As the night had progressed so far, there had been several toasts (most made by Sirius) to James and Lily's promising engagement. There had also been a fair amount of drinking. Hermione hadn't failed to notice how both Lily and Sirius - who Lily seemed to have recruited for the job - were making sure that there was more than enough alcohol in reach of Hermione and Remus.

At one point, Hermione asked Lily why she felt the need to provide Hermione with so many refills. To this, Lily just airly replied, "you're too tense when you're sober. You're not getting anything done with Remus that way."

Hermione was exceptionally careful with her drinking, as would be expected from her. Remus seemed to be controlling himself quite well too. At least up until Sirius decided to spike both of their drinks with what seemed to be some Flitterbloom leaves. This wouldn't have been much of a problem if either of the resident bookworms had taken the opportunity to check their drinks before having a sip.

Flitterbloom was a known ingredient in Veritaserum. When consumed alone, it tended to make the victim just a bit more talkative and open with their secrets. Though not as powerful as the actual Veritaserum, it still had it's abilities.

After taking the first sip of her drink, Hermione caught a whiff of the strange essence. After only a moment, she recognized it as Flitterbloom. She had read something about the ingredient recently when looking through a book about behavioral potions. Immediately, an irate anger took over upon the realization of what Sirius had done. Looking over to Remus, she realized that the same thing must have happened to his drink, except he hadn't noticed yet.

Hermione was furious. Sirius thought he could just go around doing whatever he wanted! He couldn't just spike the drinks of his friends and expect everything to go swell. It was terrible.

Without thinking much on the idea, Hermione moved up from her seat, stomping over to Sirius. However, before she could get very far, a hand caught her shoulder.

"Hermione… can I talk to you?"

It was Remus. He stood behind her, a strange look on his face as he motioned over to a booth in the corner of the bar.

Hermione took a few deep breaths, knowing that she definitely didn't need to be taking her anger out on Remus. She needed to explain to him what Sirius had done anyways…

"Sure," she grumbled, following the werewolf over to a dimly lit corner. They sat, mildly watching as James and Sirius began telling some extravagant story about a midnight trip to Hogsmeade back in their seventh year. It sounded like a bit of an exaggerated story, but nobody protested to the boys' antics.

"I need to tell you that I'm sorry… for everything," Remus said, his voice bringing Hermione away from her thoughts of the others.

Hermione ran a hand through her curly hair, "before you say anything, I think you ought to know that Sirius put something in both of our drinks."

Remus furrowed his brow, looking from Hermione, to his drink, then over to Sirius. As he looked at his animagus friend, his expression became one of anger.

"What was it?"

"Flitterbloom," Hermione responded.

Comprehension dawned on Remus' face, and Hermione knew that he understood more than just the effects of the ingredient. He thought for a long minute, and then his expression softened significantly.

"Well," he sighed, "I suppose it's for the best. I mean, they want us to talk about what's happened… we should talk."

Hermione sputtered for a moment, just looking at Remus, shocked at how calm he could be. But then again, he had learned very early on to control his emotions.

"So…" she began, not quite knowing where to go from there.

Remus reached over and took her hand, cradling it in his own. She felt a blossom of something in her chest, and knew the blush was visible on her cheeks as he spoke. "I shouldn't have treated you like I did, and I'm sorry. The full moon got to me, and I didn't deal with the situation how I really should have."

Hermione took a deep breath, "You don't have to apologize."

"I do," he said firmly, "because I know I made you upset, and I really have just been trying to figure out what to do with my feelings."

He looked so different than he had on the morning after the full moon. He was so calm, so rational. She didn't know what to say. It was such a contradiction to the wolfish side of him, but then again, he was still very much Remus.

"I like you, and I want to be with you. First, though, I want you to know what you're getting into."

"_I know you_, Remus," She said, picking her hand up and placing it on his cheek. She could feel the slight stubble on his jaw. "You don't have to be afraid of yourself or entering a relationship. I know what I'm getting into, and it's nothing that I'm worried about."

"Werewolves are outcasts."

"I could care less."

"We're dangerous."

"I can handle you. And besides, I don't think Sirius, Lily, or anyone else would let you get away with any funny business."

She was smirking slyly, and it led Remus to let out a short laugh, the smile lighting up his face.

They just watched each other for a moment, leaning in ever so slightly. Hermione was close enough to trace each little silvery scar that marred his face. They were still smiling as their lips met. This kiss was so different from the first; it was shy, and not as hormonally-infused as the previous. Hermione couldn't help but hope that she could kiss Remus a lot more in the future, and from the way things were going, it seemed like she might just get her wish.

They broke apart, both very flustered and blushing at the idea of how public their kiss had been.

"Sirius drugged us," Hermione felt the need to remind him.

"And we will get him back for that later…" Remus said, sighing, "but he had good intentions."

They stood up from the dingy booth, hand-in-hand, making their way back over to their friends. Sirius and James were now performing some sort of elaborate drunken dance. Hermione ignored Lily's smug glance in her direction, squeezing Remus' hand lightly as their joined the group.

oOo

**AN**: I got Flitterbloom from the Harry Potter Lexicon. It's described as similar to Devil's Snare, but without the violent tendencies. I took the liberty of making up the idea that it's an ingredient in Veritaserum. Don't quote me for that, kids.

On another note, thanks for all the great reviews last chapter. Can we keep it up with this one? I love hearing what you guys think. Did you expect this chapter to go the way it did? I hope it was at least a bit of a surprise.


	9. To Innocence

**Chapter Nine: To Innocence **

_Let's get lost in the dark, forget who we were, and resurface as something new. _

–Daniel, blindedpoet

* * *

About a week and a half had passed since that night at the bar. The night when Hermione and Remus had finally agreed about their feelings for each other. Since that night, Hermione had been in a particularly bright and cheery mood.

Remus was wonderful, even more so now that she was allowed to kiss him. That was the thing that she thought about when laying in bed at night; the fact that she could now kiss him.

It was a strangely childish thing to think about, but she could have cared less. Now they were _dating_.

Well... sort of.

Hermione and Remus still hadn't talked much about their relationship specifically. They mostly just continued on with their lives normally, except for perhaps a few more intimate gestures mixed in there.

On the morning after their night at the bar, however, they had had a small discussion about it. Remus had said that they ought to take things slowly. Hermione had agreed, for the sake of both of their comfort. Since then, things had been relatively normal.

Except for the fact that Sirius and Lily seemed to be ecstatic at the idea that Remus and Hermione were finally 'together'. There were a lot of waggled eyebrows and suggestive looks from the two, who seemed to think that they had completely facilitated the new relationship.

Remus and Hermione had simply rolled their eyes at their friends and continued on with their business.

It was in that manner, that the week passed by, bringing them into September before they knew it. Hermione and Remus found themselves caught up in work at the store while students flooded Diagon Alley. During these days, Hermione would usually find herself taking lunch break with Remus as he told stories about his Hogwarts days with the other boys.

In the midst of all this activity, Hermione hadn't realized that her birthday had come. It was on a Tuesday night that she came home from work with Remus, to find James, Lily, and Sirius in their apartment with cake, balloons, and even a spelled banner that declared Hermione a negative two years old.

The night had been fun, if not somewhat poignant. While the others sang a loud rendition of Happy Birthday, Hermione came to the full realization that this was her life. She was stuck here, without her memories, twenty or so years in the past, living this life.

But as each of the boys picked her up and twirled her around in a hug, she realized that she didn't mind all too much. It was okay. She had friends, and Remus, and they would help her work through all of the confusion and disarray that she might go through

By Saturday of the next week, it was time for another Order meeting. Hermione had been very curious to attend, especially because a few nights before, there had been a bit of an incident involving James and Sirius being called away for some emergency Order business.

It had been late at night, while Hermione, Sirius, and Remus were hanging out around the apartment. They had listening to the wireless, and talking quietly when James had rushed in, declaring that Dumbledore had called for Sirius and himself.

Hermione and Remus had been especially worried that night, but managed to distract each other with a discussion about Hogwarts: A History (Hermione suspected that Remus had only initiated a discussion about that particular book because he knew it could distract her easily).

After Sirius and James had returned home, they made a clear point that they didn't want to talk about it – at least until the Order meeting the next day.

Thus, it was with anxious thoughts that the group made their way to Headquarters. Hermione smiled at the strange, abandoned train yard. How strange it was that this was the center of the organization leading the fight against Voldemort.

"Ah, boys, you're just in time," Dumbledore said pointedly towards Sirius and James. McGonagall stood behind him, a small smile on her face.

"Hello Professor," Remus and Hermione both chimed, earning a comment from James about how 'adorably cute' they were.

Marlene, Alice, Frank, and Peter were all sitting in the seemingly usual spots, and Hermione found herself sandwiched between Remus and Peter. She threw the discomfort out of her mind, and decided that even if Peter did give her the jitters, he was just a normal guy who she had been decidedly rude to.

After sitting down, she felt Remus' hand slip into hers under the table. It was a small gesture, but one that made an affection spring up from within her chest. He was so gentle and kind and she couldn't get over the way he drew little circles on her palm with the pad of his thumb.

"How are you?" He asked softly, only loud enough for Hermione to hear.

She realized that they had barely had time to talk at all that day what with all the worry over Sirius and James. "Fine," she said, nodding, "And you?"

"I'll be better once we get this meeting over with…" He murmured, looking up to Dumbledore, speaking to the Order members near the head of the table.

Hermione had slowly been realizing how much weight this war carried with her friends. She had seen from the start all of the anxiety and fear that had been pent up within them all, but never really understood where it stemmed from.

She was beginning to understand. This was their life, worrying about Voldemort and what he was up to. Who he was killing and the power he was gaining. They thought about it often enough, and Order meetings were something they all dreaded because of the possibility of bad news.

The poor kids were growing up in all this madness, and in a strange flicker of recollection, Hermione completely understood how they were feeling. She just wanted to get them out of this war. They didn't deserve this, and she wanted to do whatever it took to see all of them through to the end of it. They wouldn't lose themselves to this growing war; she would make sure of it.

Dumbledore began the meeting, talking of events that had happened over the past week, and then turning towards James and Sirius, "Boys, would you like to report on what happened?"

James and Sirius both tensed, looking at each other for just a second before standing up. Hermione glanced over to Lily and noticed that she seemed to know what had happened… maybe James had told her what Sirius had neglected to tell Remus and Hermione.

"Sirius and James are going to report on what happened the other night concerning a rather surprising Death Eater attack."

Remus gave Hermione a worried look as James and Sirius began telling what had happened. They were prompt about it.

"We were a bit late to the scene," James began, his face set in an uncomfortably straight line. "It was a muggle family. We're still not sure why they were significant to the Death Eaters. Could have just been random targeting."

James paused, allowing Sirius to continue. "We were unsuccessful in saving them. The Death Eaters had escaped before we arrived."

It was strange seeing both of them so heartbreakingly serious. They were such young, carefree spirits. Hermione had always though that nothing could bring them down. They were the people to look to in times of weakness.

But this… it was like their innocence had been thrown out the window, as them were thrust into a cold, unforgiving world. It was so terribly unjust.

Her heart also wrenched for this family, the poor Muggles, who never saw it coming. It really did a lot to prove the cruel reality of Voldemort's followers. She wondered how they died… if it was painless…

Remus' hand tightened around hers, and she allowed herself to lean over and rest her head on his shoulder.

There was a long moment of silence all around the room.

Finally, Dumbledore broke it with a few softly spoken words to James and Sirius. Both of the boys sat down quietly.

"After such an dramatic week, I will remind you all that in this war, the most important thing is to stay united. We must stay close to each other, and not forget that there are always friends here." Dumbledore said, his eyes resting on each person around the table as he went. Hermione could swear that he almost smiled upon seeing Remus and herself. A slight blush spread across her cheek as she realized that her head was still propped up against his shoulder.

The meeting ended quietly, and everyone left Headquarters without much to say.

"I feel like something's coming closer," Hermione said, her hand still clasped in Remus' as they made their way to the apparition point outside Headquarters. James and Lily were walking up ahead with the same somber demeanor. Sirius had wandered off with Marlene somewhere…

"Me too," Remus responded.

"How much time do you think we have until it gets really bad?" She asked, pulling her jumper tighter around herself. It was a particularly cold day for September.

"I don't know," he murmured, "But I think we should make the most of the time we have."

They had reached the apparition point, and were now stopped facing each other. The train yard was empty, James and Lily having just disappeared with a loud crack.

"How?"

He shrugged, bringing a hand up to brush some hair out of her face, "try not to think about it when you can. Enjoy the happy moments." He was smiling wryly at her.

Hermione felt her heart lift just a little. She took a small step forward and met her lips with his. It was a sort of blissfully poignant kiss. After a moment, he reached his arms around and pulled her into a hug. She let her head move to the crook of his neck, a small smile on her face.

"Let's get out of here," He finally said, and she felt the turning spin of side-along Apparition.

oOo

Time seemed to pass slowly as the days continued on. Hermione had decided to take Remus' advice and not think about the war unless she had to. It worked rather well when she had something to distract herself with.

Distractions came in the form of wedding planning.

Two days later, Hermione, Lily, Marlene, and Alice all set out to look for wedding dresses. It was a day that they had arranged earlier, in preparation for the wedding that would be coming along rather rapidly.

They ventured out to a small Muggle wedding boutique, which Lily seemed to have picked out with great excitement. The girls entered with Lily in the lead, finding an employee immediately coming to assist them.

"Hello, Miss Evans, I'm Anna and I'll be helping you pick out a dress today," a blonde woman said, extending a hand to shake Lily's.

"Okay," the redhead responded, almost looking overwhelmed by the task ahead of her.

After a moment or so, the girls began filing off to the back of the store, so Lily could try on the dresses that Ana had already picked out for her. Just before Hermione followed, she turned to glance back at the front of the store, where she could see out the windows.

The street outside was narrow, with only a few people passing by. After a second, a man walked by, looking into the shop casually at the last moment.

Hermione gasped audibly, stumbling backwards slightly at the sight of the man's face.

_It was him._

The curious tattoo looked exactly the same in broad daylight, spread across the side of his face sharply. His eyes didn't find her, but she had the strangest feeling that he was looking for her.

It was the exact man she had seen only a few weeks earlier when venturing out in muggle London with the others. There was no doubt that it was the same person.

Her mind was sent reeling as she realized the implications of this: either he was following her, or this was an awfully strange coincidence.

But as she watched him move past the window, Hermione had a feeling in her gut that this was not a coincidence, and that this man was not the kind of person she wanted to be alone around.

With a bit of a stumble, Hermione dashed into the back of the store, where Lily was being ushered into a curtained changing room with a large white dress. Alice and Marlene stood just a few feet away, watching Lily. They both seemed almost as excited as her.

Hermione slid over to the two girls, placing herself beside Alice while Marlene fawned over another dress that Lily was set to try on.

"Okay there?" Alice asked, eyeing Hermione curiously

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," she responded, brushing thoughts of the strange man out of her mind.

Alice narrowed her eyes slightly at Hermione, but turned back to comment on the dress Marlene was looking at.

A few moments later, Lily had come out of the changing room wearing the first dress. It was quite large, fanning out around her waist a little too much for Hermione's taste. Lily seemed to be thinking the same thing as she examined herself in the colossal mirror.

"I think it's a bit too much," the redhead muttered.

"Definitely," Marlene mused.

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Alice?" Lily looked to the fourth young witch.

"Yeah, maybe it's a bit too much," she replied.

"Alright," Anne swooped in, holding the dress Marlene had just been eyeing, "next one, then."

Lily was ushered back into the changing room.

Hermione watched as a multitude of dresses were sampled, most of which having some fault or being too expensive. By the ninth dress, everyone was just about ready to give up.

"Alright, here it is," Lily exited the changing area, wearing an elegant gown.

Hermione's first thought was that it fit Lily perfectly. The girl had never been very fancy or proper, and most of the dresses had been too elegant. This dress, however, was wonderfully normal. It flowed off of Lily's body and let her fiery hair hang all about.

"I love it," Marlene nearly squealed.

Alice and Hermione both mimicked this sentiment.

Lily nodded in agreement, "I think this will be it."

Anne was standing in the back, smiling broadly, "Wonderful, I think it's a perfect dress for you. Why don't we get you out of it now so we can take care of the purchase."

Lily raised an eyebrow, gliding back into the changing room to get back into her normal clothes.

After the four had taken care of the dress, they began to walk down the Muggle streets, taking their time as they searched for an empty place to disapparate from.

"I suppose I should tell you guys," Marlene began, fiddling with her purse, "well… Sirius and I have been talking, and we think we might move in together."

"What?" Lily turned to her friend, surprise and happiness laced in her grin.

"Yeah, I mean, we've basically been living together since graduation…"

"That's wonderful!" Alice enthused why Lily hugged Marlene.

Hermione smiled and congratulated her friend, but couldn't help but wonder what it would be like without Sirius around their flat. She loved having him around, and he definitely had helped to diffuse a lot of tension during her awkward phase with Remus.

It was good that Sirius was moving in with Marlene, great for their relationship, actually. Everyone in their group of friends knew that the two were perfect for each other.

The only problem was that Hermione would now be living alone with Remus.

Would it be awkward? Just… living together? She sure hoped not. It seemed so much more domestic than their previous arrangement.

But then again, Sirius would surely be coming to the apartment all the time anyways, and with James and Lily just down the hall, it could never be too bad.

In addition, Hermione was smitten with Remus. They had been wonderful friends before any of the romantic business, and she could hopefully enjoy her time alone with him just as well when Sirius was gone.

"I think he'll be moving in this weekend…" Marlene said, smiling softly at the other girls.

She had no reason to fret over living along with Remus. It wouldn't be a terrible inconvenience, and besides, there were much more important things to worry about… like getting her memories back, and that strange man with the tattoo.

Hermione shivered at the thought, once again getting that eerie feeling in her gut.

Something was coming closer.

oOo

**AN:** Sorry it took me a while, but school started up again, and it's been hard to get back into the groove of things. I'm aiming to have the next chapter out within a week. Maybe you all should leave a review to help cheer me on?


	10. Fly High

**Chapter Ten: Fly High**

_Time is what prevents everything from happening at once._

-John Archibald Wheeler

* * *

Sirius moved out in a flash. Both Hermione and Remus had estimated it as a long process, but they soon discovered that there were barely any traces that Sirius had been living in their flat. Therefore, the day that Sirius moved out flew by, and soon it was just Hermione and Remus alone.

James and Lily had gone back to their own flat to end the night. It was nearing eight PM and the awkwardness seemed to be creeping up.

"Here," Remus said, sliding a small mug of tea across the coffee table to Hermione.

She smiled quaintly at the faded yellow mug, which had come to be known as her own mug (even though nobody had a clue as to who had purchased it). Next to her on the couch, Remus sat with his own mug; one that James, Sirius, and Peter had apparently bought for him a year or two in the past. It had a wolf howling under a full moon ironically painted on.

"They bought it as a joke, thinking I would just hate the mug and throw it away," he explained, noticing her eyes on the carefully painted ceramic. Taking a sip of his tea, he continued with a grin, "For some reason, I quite like it, even if it does represent the part of me that I hate…"

"It was a thoughtful gift," Hermione finished, "gifts that people put something into are always the things that we tend to love more." After a moment, she realized that she sounded quite a bit like Dumbledore.

He smiled at her slight blush, "yeah… I suppose you're right."

A silence was cast across the room then, and Hermione watched as Remus picked up the book she had just set on the coffee table, inspecting it closely. He always seemed interested in what she was reading. It was something Hermione felt like she had never been accustomed to with other people.

As Remus flipped through worn old pages, Hermione's mind recalled all that had happened over the past few days. Things seemed to be quieting down in her new life. She was accustomed to it, more and more every day.

But there were still things that scared her… things that she didn't understand…

She closed her eyes for just a second, and saw _his_ face. That spiky tattoo and shifting jaw. He was really starting to scare her. She couldn't deny the suspicion of the fact that he had shown up around her in Muggle London twice in only a couple weeks.

"Remus," she said, a slight sliver tracing her spine.

"Hmmm?" he hummed noncommittally.

She took a brave sip of tea before continuing, "The other day… when we were going to that bar after James and Lily got engaged… I saw someone on the street," Remus had perked up now, obviously noting her worried tone, "and… I sort of—well I suppose I recognized him. Then I saw him again, when we were going to look at dresses."

"You think he's following you?" he said, voice low.

"I don't know," she sputtered, "but it's scaring me."

He took a deep breath, placing the old book back down on the table, "has he said anything to you?"

She shook her head, "No, I've just seen him around… maybe I'm being paranoid."

"I'm sure you're not overreacting, Hermione," he searched her eyes for a moment, "what does he look like?'

She furrowed her brow, "he's sort of big, but not very tall. Oh, and he's got this tattoo on the side of his face," she drew a line down her cheek to demonstrate, "it goes down to his jaw in this sort of spiky way."

Remus' eyes seemed to be darkening.

"Do you know who he is?" she questioned, not knowing whether it would be better or worse if he did.

"No," he responded, his voice only a mumble. "But I don't think he seems like the sort of person that should get you alone."

She shivered, pulling her knees up against her chest and resting her chin atop them. Her feet pointed at Remus, where he sat next to her on the couch.

"Be careful," he murmured, extending a hand to grasp hers. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

Something spurred Hermione on, and she found herself leaning forward, placing her hands on either side of his face and looking into his eyes. "I'll be fine. There's no need to worry so much about me when a war's going on here."

He leaned forward, trapping her mouth against his. They were in an awkward sort of position on the couch; arms and legs tangled. Hermione let out a slight giggle, allowing his tongue to dart forward. She realized that the next full moon wasn't too far away… he always acted a bit more hormonal around that time of the month.

She started to feel strangely cloudy from the way he was kissing her, and she could barely handle the way his fingers traced the edge of her t-shirt.

"Hermione," he broke away for a moment, and it was only then that she realized he was halfway on top of her, "ah- the full moon's coming up."

"I'm aware," she sighed, a small smirk on her lips.

He seemed to be looking for words to say, but she already knew what he was thinking.

"Don't be afraid of yourself, Remus. You would never hurt me in any way." Her voice was stubbornly strong.

He cracked a bit of a smile, "I care about you a lot, you know."

She raised a brow, "Oh really, I thought you hated me?"

He chuckled and leaned forward again. This time the kiss was much more intimate. She almost squealed when he suddenly picked her up from the couch, pulling her legs around his waist and moving swiftly towards his bedroom…

Hermione's stomach dropped in what she suspected was a normal manner. To be honest, Remus had the power to make Hermione very nervous sometimes.

"Do you want to do this?" He asked vaguely, kicking the door closed behind him and then moving to set Hermione down on the bed.

She considered the question for a moment and then nodded, "more than anything."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I know you won't."

His lips soon found hers once again.

It was strange. In Remus' dimly lit bedroom with him so close to her, it didn't really matter that she had lost her memories and come from a strange future. She didn't have to worry about the war or her mangled brain right now. It was just Remus.

oOo

Hermione sighed, stretching out her limbs tiredly. When her right hand collided with a body, she remembered where she had fallen asleep.

Looking over, it seemed that Remus had woken up from her hand brushing up against his shoulder. He was now squinting at her through the morning light. He was smiling. It was one of those smiles that just makes anyone else unable to think an unhappy thought. Hermione found herself grinning as well.

"Morning," he said groggily, reaching a hand out to brush away her messy hair. It tended to get rather unruly at night.

She inspected him closely, letting her eyes wander from his eyes down to the planes of his chest. Scars littered his skin, and she remembered what it had looked like after the last full moon.

Hermione slid closer to him, noticing with a shift of fabric that she was wearing one of his t-shirts.

He moved so that his arms were encircling her waist, pulling his head to press a kiss onto her forehead. "Are you alright?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mmm, I'm splendid," she replied airily. "Are you?"

"I'm great," he said, "which is surprising with the full moon is so close."

"Good," Hermione stated, pressing a kiss on his chest.

"Speaking of the full moon," he began, "I'm sure Sirius, James, and Peter will be invading the flat this month."

"Oh."

"Is that okay? I mean— I know you've had some trouble with Peter…"

"Can I tell you something, Remus?" her voice was slightly muffled by his chest.

"Of course."

She propped herself up onto her elbows, focusing on him. "Peter gives me a bad feeling." Her voice came out a lot stronger than she had intended. "And… It's the same way I feel about that man with the tattoo… it's suspicious to me."

His expression was unreadable, but he was obviously thinking deeply.

"I don't know why I feel this way about him, but I think that somewhere in the back of my mind, I can remember him."

"And?" he urged her on.

"I feel like he's done something… or maybe he will do something…" she looked at him pleadingly.

"Hermione," he sighed in a way that made him seem years older and strangely familiar, "he's one of my best friends. We grew up together."

She winced, falling back onto the bed beside him.

She supposed that Peter had been anything but suspicious to the others. He had done nothing wrong. It was Hermione's fault, really, that Peter had been pushed away. He had only really ever been loyal. She just had this strange feeling.

Perhaps it was just irrational. She had a lot of irrational feelings when dealing with her lost memories.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she murmured, looking over to Remus.

He was studying her, his eyes tracing the lines of her face. "No," he let out a breath, "you've nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault that you've got these memories… or rather a lack of."

"I'm sure Peter's fine though. It's not like he's ever done anything wrong," she said, fingers fiddling with the quilt that covered them.

"So it's alright If he comes around for the full moon?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

oOo

The full moon rolled around eventually. It seemed that time passed a lot faster when one was in such a blissful state that Hermione was in. Being with Remus was… wonderful. Every day they spent together – whether at work or around the flat – was bliss.

But when the moon finally came, Hermione found herself dreading the evening, making time seem to pass even faster.

"See you tomorrow," Remus murmured, kissing her quickly. The moon was rising any minute now, and it would be prudent if she got out of there sooner rather than later.

She hugged him tightly around the waist, feeling terrible at the thought of the pain he would be going through tonight… it always made her shiver at just the thought.

"Good luck," she said, slipping out of the apartment just as Sirius and Peter approached.

"Hermione!" Sirius beamed, "haven't seen you in a while."

"It's only been a few days since you moved out," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Still miss you," he ruffled her hair in quite an annoying fashion. Peter seemed amused.

Hermione huffed and strode to James and Lily's apartment, remembering to _accio_ her book at the last moment. It hit Sirius with a satisfying thump.

Lily was in a tricky mood upon Hermione's arrival.

"Lily?" the young witch called, entering the seemingly empty flat. After no response, she repeated herself loudly.

"In here," Lily's faint voice was coming from the bedroom. Hermione cracked the door open to find her redheaded friend sprawled out on top of her bed, staring anxiously at the ceiling.

"What's going on?" she placed her book next to the doorway, moving to the bedside. Lily looked pale.

"I think… I'm having cold feet," she said it in a detached sort of manner.

It took Hermione a moment, but she realized that Lily was talking about the wedding. A wedding that would be taking place in more than a month…

Hermione sighed and hopped on the bed beside her, staring up at the off-white ceiling in a mimicking fashion. "What makes you think that?"

"It's just…" She fiddled with the ring delicately placed on her finger, "We wanted to get married quickly, because of the war going on and everything. But… what if it's not right? What if we're rushing something that shouldn't be rushed?"

Hermione took a deep breath, "Lily, in times like these, you need to consider what makes you happiest. Does James make you happy?"

A faint smile grew on Lily's face, "yeah," she affirmed.

"Do you want to be his wife?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, I don't see any other reason not to get married."

"But what if it doesn't work out?" Lily asked shakily.

"You and James…" Hermione thought for a moment, "you're perfect for each other. I don't think I've ever seen a couple better matched than the two of you. While I can't pretend to know your relationship fully, I do know that he loves you immensely, and I can't see him being anything but a wonderful husband to you."

Lily exhaled, "I guess I'm just getting work up over nothing."

"Well, having cold feet is a perfectly normal thing," Hermione said as if reciting a book, "sometimes it can feel like you're doing something wrong, but you really just need to look at yourself and ask what would make you the happiest."

Lily nodded, "you're right."

"And you know what?" Hermione continued, "I've always thought that if you ever have kids with James, that baby will be just about the cutest mix of the two of you."

"Imagine the hair," Lily chuckled.

Hermione began laughing as an image came to her mind, one of a bespectacled child with haphazardly strewn hair, possibly as bright red as Lily's, or maybe James' same jet-black color.

She didn't realize the irony of it.

oOo

Lily feel asleep after a bit more reassuring from Hermione, who probably wasn't going to be getting that much sleep tonight.

Hermione retrieved her book and went back to the couch, where she spend most of the night worrying over Remus and not getting much reading done.

By the time morning came, Hermione found that she had slept a total of about three to four hours, interrupted often by her worries over Remus. Lily was still sleeping when the sunlight skimmed through her thin curtains. Hermione decided it was about time to go over and see how the boys were doing.

Marauders had overrun hers and Remus' flat. She entered to find James, Sirius, and Peter all hanging about the kitchenette. Sirius was cooking a large amount of eggs while Peter simmered bacon. James was yawning tiredly as he perched against the countertop.

"Morning boys," Hermione mused, noting how disordered the couch cushions were. She would make them clean up later. "How's Remus?"

"Dear Moony is sound asleep at the moment," James said, gulping down a glass of orange juice. "But when he wakes up, he is going to be hungry as hell."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate breakfast," she said, slipping into the resident werewolf's bedroom.

As she shut the door behind, Hermione noticed that it wasn't very awkward with Peter here. She just had to try and ignore her unease. It wasn't like he said or did much to attract her attention. She could always pretend he wasn't there.

Remus looked significantly better than he had the last full moon, but still decidedly dreadful. Hermione's heart ached for him. Stepping towards the bed, she had another realization: within about a month, this room had become so much more familiar to her. She hadn't been sleeping in her own room very often, choosing to sleep with Remus instead most nights. There was a satisfying evidence of her existence in here.

She smiled, and set to work on Remus.

He woke up as she was attempting to heal him, once again apologizing for her having to see him like this. Hermione simply assured him that she didn't mind one bit, and that she just wanted him to be as healthy as possible. He kissed her tiredly in response.

It took about twenty minutes, but she finished with her medical work, and Remus was more than ready to go get something to eat.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked as Remus and Hermione came out into the kitchenette. Lily had now joined then around the counter, where a significant amount of breakfast food was laid out.

"Alright," Remus replied gruffly, eyeing the food before him.

They dug in, sitting on countertops across from each other and falling into a funny sort of camaraderie. It was always strange just hanging out with the Marauders. Hermione had mulled over this often during her time with them. They were just so familiar and comfortable. It really was a beautiful friendship; one that couldn't quite be put into words, but was so tangible at the same time.

After eating, everyone left, either going off to work, or to run some sort of errands. Hermione and Remus sad alone now, both of them having luckily been given the day off work.

Remus yawned, "I think I need to get some more sleep."

"Me too," Hermione replied, feeling exhaustion from the night before set in.

The couple wandered back into Remus' room, finding their way under covers, snuggled up next to each other.

Hermione sighed contently. She was happy to have today with Remus, because everything seemed to be moving so fast around her. She had been experiencing the strange sense that something was coming closer, but today was not the day to think about that.

"Are you excited for the wedding?" Remus questioned, his voice still scratchy.

"Yeah," she remembered Lily's anxious expression from the night before, hoping that the girl didn't go through anything like that again. "Are you?"

He nodded, one hand playing with Hermione's unruly curls that fell atop the pillow. "I'd like to dance with you," he said in a dazed sort of manner. Sleep wore down on his eyes.

"Well, I would very much like to dance with you too," she grinned, leaning into his warmth, and feeling herself drift off to sleep as well.

oOo

**AN**: This chapter (and some of the next one) is a lot of feelings/relationship development. It's a bit of a calm-before-the-storm thing if you know what I mean.

I've had another read-through of my plans for this story, and let me tell you, there is some exciting stuff coming up. Hermione may be getting some very important memories back in the near future…


	11. The Wedding

**Chapter Eleven: The Wedding**

_The world shrieks and sinks talons into our hearts. This we call memory_.

-Tim O'Brien, _Tomcat in Love_

* * *

Time was moving quickly, or at least that was what Hermione told herself. The days blurred together until James and Lily's wedding finally came along. It had seemed that Hermione was becoming very accustomed to this life. She hadn't had any memories come back for a while, but it had for the most part stopped bothering her.

The day of James and Lily's wedding arrived too quickly. There was a rush of last minute planning and a few panicked moments on Lily's part. The wedding was to be held at James' parents' house, in their garden outside. Hermione met Mr. and Mrs. Potter about a week before the wedding, and found that they were exceedingly kind people, who treated all of James' friends like family.

It was to be a small ceremony, with a few relatives and some of Order members. The flowers Mrs. Potter ordered had been specially selected to a red and gold theme. It was quaint, but seemed to work quite well for James and Lily.

Before she knew it, Hermione was putting her dress on, which matched Marlene and Alice. It was a long gown in the same simple fashion that Lily's was, a red color that went along with the Gryffindor theme.

They arrived early, and the ceremony passed quickly. Remus, who was a groomsman, stood across from Hermione with a quaint smile on his face. He was dashing, and Hermione quite liked the way he looked in a suit – which Lily and James had ultimately decided the men should wear as opposed to dress robes.

After the ceremony, what Sirius declared as "the real fun" came along. The Marauder in question had decided that as the best man, it was his job to make the wedding as fantastic as possible.

The reception was set up with many tables and chairs in the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Potter's house. The scenery was a beautiful place to have a wedding. Hermione found herself at the head table, along with Marlene, Remus, Sirius, Alice, Peter, James and Lily, and then of course their respective parents.

Remus pulled her chair out and she smiled at him. He was rather charming at the moment.

"Moony," Sirius said urgently from down the table, "we need to prepare the toast."

Hermione quirked a brow as recognition flitted across Remus' face. "Of course," he said, rushing off to follow Sirius.

"Sirius has been planning this toast for weeks," Marlene mumbled, apparently having heard the conversation. She sat beside Hermione, looking beautiful in her matching red dress. "I'm quite suspicious about it," she added, eyes watching the boys as Peter joined them.

Hermione chuckled, "well I think we'll just have to outdo them with a toast of our own." She wasn't much for competition, but she was sure she could write quite a speech if she wanted to.

"Sounds like a plan," Marlene said covertly, "I tell Alice to prepare herself."

Hermione was left to talk with Mrs. Potter for a while. The boys put together speeches and the festivities soon began.

oOo

Sirius cleared his throat in an attempt to get the attention of the party. If Hermione guessed, she would say there were a little over fifty people. It was rather small for a wedding, but felt very appropriate.

Sirius stood up on a small podium that was located near the head table and cleared his throat again, louder this time. Peter and Remus were standing behind him, smug grins on their faces.

Everyone quieted down after a moment. Most had dispersed into conversation. Hermione had noted that more than enough alcohol had been set about the area. She doubted everyone would stay sober for long… and that wasn't always a good sign for the marauders….

"I would like to make a toast," Sirius announced loudly, raising a tall glass of champagne in his hand. The room was completely quiet at this point, watching the suspicious looking boys.

Remus and Peter both stepped up beside Sirius, glasses in hand. To Hermione's left, Marlene was muttering something about outdoing them.

Sirius looked to the other two and then began, "James and Lily, congratulations." He ran a hand through his hair in a fashion that vaguely resembled James. "After all these years, Prongs, I never thought Evans would actually give your sorry arse a chance…"

James, who sat beside Lily, began to boo Sirius.

"Alright," Remus stepped up, "I think what Sirius is trying to say is that we didn't expect you two to find happiness with each other, but now I think we've all realized that the two of you are perfect."

"And James, we will never forget that time you decided to take Ancient Runes _just_ so you could be in class with Lily," Sirius cut in.

Lily furrowed her brow, giving James a disbelieving look. Hermione sighed, knowing that the toast was probably only going to go downhill from here.

"Or the time you made us follow Lily all around Hogsmeade just so you could be sure nobody asked her to the Slug Club Christmas party," Peter continued.

"You know…" Sirius murmured, "now that I think about it, you were really quite a stalker."

James was blushing, and Lily was laughing wildly along with the rest of the crowd. Well, at least she wasn't reacting angrily with the news.

Remus seemed to be joining in on the fun now, "Of course, there was also that time when you got a black eye when we lost that Slytherin Quidditch game and you refused to go to classes the next day to avoid Lily seeing you like that."

The audience was roaring. Hermione looked to Marlene who shrugged and gulped down her champagne. It was looking like it would be pretty tough for them to outdo the boys.

The toast continued with a recollection of the many stories of James and Lily, and by the end, the couple in question appeared to have lightened up. They both laughed along as Sirius gave the final toast.

A few moments later, Hermione found herself being pulled up to the podium along with Marlene and Alice. She could hear Sirius cheering them on somewhere in the background.

"Toasting time!" Marlene yelled happily. It was at that moment that Hermione realized that the girl was just a little bit tipsy.

Attention fell on the three girls. Hermione and Alice shared a look as Marlene began.

"Lily, I've known you since we were little first years, and I've always wanted what's best for you."

Hermione was a bit taken aback by how solemn Marlene was sounding.

"I used to think James was just a nuisance, but over the years, I've realized… that he's always just been as big of a clown as ever," Marlene started laughing. Sirius nodded at her in agreement. James shrugged and put an arm around Lily.

Alice decided that this was a prudent time to cut in, "James, Lily, we think you're wonderful for each other."

"Perfect!" Marlene chimed.

Hermione found herself nodding in agreement, but them Alice looked at her as if she ought to chime in. "Oh," she mumbled, stepping forward and looking towards the head table. Crowds always made her a bit nervous…

She bit her lip, looking for something to say. Catching Remus' eye, she saw that he was smiling at her admirably. She grinned, finding some words that she had been preparing to say earlier.

"I haven't known you guys for very long… but I've always admired the two of you. You're both wonderful people and amazing friends. I think that the love you two share is something everyone should look for, and I wish you the best of luck…"

She said her bit slightly quiet, but she could tell everyone could hear. James and Lily were both smiling sweetly at her. She blushed and stepped back.

Marlene drunkenly hollered something about dancing and the girls stepped off the stage.

oOo

"Would you like to dance?" a voice whispered in her ear, making Hermione jump. She turned to see Remus, smiling jovially. He looked so handsome when he smiled…

"Of course," she grinned back, taking his hand and pulling him out to the dance floor.

Couples were accumulating around James and Lily. Hermione spotted Sirius, Marlene, Alice, and Frank amidst the crowd.

Remus took her hand in his and placed another on her waist. It was a waltz, quite a nice song. She belatedly realized that she had never really danced with him, and told him so.

"Hmmm," He responded, nodding his head, "well there's always time for firsts."

Hermione quickly raised her head up and kissed him. He seemed to glow with happiness in response. She loved having the ability to make him happy. That was all she really wanted for her friends. They deserved to be happy.

"You look beautiful," he murmured slyly.

"And you look dashing," she replied, following his lead around the makeshift dance floor. He really did… she had always enjoyed the way he looked with his hair slicked back.

They continued on, and Hermione found herself admiring the scenery around. The garden that Mr. And Mrs. Potter had cultivated was really a beautiful surrounding. The sun was just setting in the distance, creating a beautiful auburn sky above the garden.

She looked over and saw James and Lily pass by, giddy smiles on their faces.

"I think they're both very pleased with all of this," Remus commented, noticing her gaze as it followed the dancing couple. "They've always wanted a wedding like this, especially Lily."

She nodded in agreement, "I'm happy for them."

"Me too," he sighed.

oOo

The wedding was drawing to a close. If Hermione guessed, it was sometime around two AM. She yawned, leaning her head against Remus' shoulder. They sat side by side at the head table now. Sometime during the party, seats had been traded. Marlene and Sirius sat together, as did Alice and Frank. Hermione had decided that she might as well just sit beside Remus.

"Tired?" He asked, appearing amused by her place of resting on his shoulder.

"Mhmm," she yawned. Hermione had never been too much of a night owl. She tended to fall asleep with the setting of the sun.

"Lucky for you I think we're finishing up soon." He said, pointing over to the entrance to the garden, where friends and relatives were beginning to leave.

It wasn't much more than a half hour later that nearly everyone had gone. Hermione, Remus, Sirius and Marlene left together, then Disapparated to their separate blocks.

Hermione put her arms around Remus' torso, knowing she was too tired to Apparate herself alone. He pulled them away with a twist and they arrived in an alley near the flat. He put an arm around her and they turned down the sidewalk, heading toward their building.

"I liked hearing all those stories," Hermione murmured, smiling faintly, "about when you guys were at Hogwarts."

Remus smiled as well, a faraway look in his eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah," she paused, "Do you miss it?"

"Hogwarts?" he furrowed his brow, "Yeah, sometimes. Then again, I've still got my friends. They were what really made Hogwarts great."

"You all seemed to have a lot of fun…"

"We did… but sometimes they went a little far of course. They almost killed me with anxiety on several occasions." His expression had darkened a bit. She wondered what he was thinking about that the boys had done… but decided that she probably didn't want to know.

They walked up the stairs hand-in-hand.

"Never the less," he sighed tiredly, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Me too," She nodded, following Remus into the flat.

oOo

**AN:** This update took me too long, and that was because of two reasons: one, I found this chapter very difficult to write; and two, I run for my school's team and we're in season right now. Therefore, running and sleeping take up a lot of my time. Luckily, though, the season ends in less than a week, and from then on out, I plan on weekly updates.

This is also short, which I apologize for. Things really pick up in the next few chapters, and I wanted to separate this part and the next.

Review?


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